Red
by Dance FLY
Summary: Alex has been best friends with Yugi ever since their first year of college. She lives a perfectly ordinary life, aside from some strange recurring nightmares, but still ordinary. That is, until the day she decided to check out an alleyway at night...
1. Prologue

**AN:**

 **Hello! Welcome to my first full length story!**

 **The timing here is a little weird (actually the whole premise of this story is a little weird, but if you can suspend your disbelief I hope you'll enjoy it). It takes place between the KC Grand Prix and Memory World, but several years have passed since the Grand Prix. The gang are now about 20 years old and in university (or college or whatever you want to call it).**

 **Memories and thoughts will be italicized. When Yugi and Yami are having a conversation Yami's thoughts will be bolded.**

 **Now, on with the show!**

* * *

Prologue

 _Red._

 _It ran in rivers all around her. As far as she could see, coating her torso and arms was red. Her normally golden Eye of Horus necklace lay in copper pieces around her. She knew she was surrounded in death, and that soon she would make the journey to the afterlife as well. And yet, her greatest pain of all were the brilliant crimson eyes floating above her that spoke of agony and loneliness._

Alex shot upright. For a minute she just sat gasping, thinking about the dream. It was a dream she'd had before, one that was constantly ripping her from sleep and leaving her drenched in sweat. _What the hell does it mean?_ she wondered. She gently touched the Eye of Horus necklace she wore around her neck. It was a small, thin piece of real gold on a delicate chain. It had caught her eye while on a family vacation to Egypt and her parents bought it for her as a birthday present. She never took it off. It was the only thing of her parents that she had left.

Deciding to try and shake it off as just a bad dream, she turned to look at her alarm clock and groaned with frustration. It was only five freaking am and she didn't have class for hours. Looking back at her pillow she debated the possibility of being able to fall back onto it and go to sleep, but decided it was unlikely with the dream on her mind.

 _Well I guess I might as well get started with the day,_ Alex thought to herself as she pulled herself out of bed. As she got dressed in her favourite jogging outfit and made her way out of her apartment, she was drawn back into thoughts about the dream again.

 _It_ _ **has**_ _to mean something,_ she thought as she ran. Sure strange dreams are normal, even having the same strange dream a few times probably wouldn't have bothered Alex. What nagged at her was that she'd had this dream multiple times for _years_. It started when she was around fourteen. She would have the dream maybe once every few months. Now though, she was in college and at the age of twenty she was reliving it nearly every other night.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Alex slowed down, trying to pinpoint the source of her unease. But looking around in the dark of the predawn, nothing seemed amiss. Most of the stores were closed and the streets around campus were empty except for a handful of other joggers in the distance. Still, Alex couldn't shake her feeling of discomfort, so she made her way back to her apartment. The whole way there she almost felt as if there were eyes watching her.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Yugi pushed his legs harder as he checked his watch again. _9:58 am. Crap, crap, crap!_ he thought to himself as he skidded around a corner. He felt a smirk in the back of his mind.

 _This isn't funny,_ Yugi told himself.

 _ **I'm sorry Aibou, but I'm afraid I disagree,**_ an ancient pharaoh replied as his translucent form shimmered into reality beside a panting Yugi.

Yugi just huffed and kept running. The young college student finally caught sight of the doors to his lecture hall and slowed down rather than run head first into them. He scanned the room for the familiar head of wild, curly black hair and upon finding it sat down beside the owner. Alex raised an eyebrow at him when he flopped into the seat still panting.

"My left shoe decided to play hide and seek this morning," Yugi explained pulling out his books.

"Well it's a good thing you found it. I doubt Seto would be too happy to hear the King of Games title had been won by a shoe," she teased.

Yugi pouted for a second. Then they both burst into laughter picturing Kaiba's face.

"Hey can I borrow your notes from Monday night's makeup lecture?" Yugi asked after they had calmed down.

"Here," she said handing him some papers. "I already copied my notes for you."

Yugi beamed. "You're the best Alex." He really was lucky he had met Alex when they were in their first year of college. She was in the Ancient History program specializing in Egyptology same as Yugi was and they quickly became good friends. Not only did she love Duel Monsters, but she was also a huge help whenever one of their lectures or meetings were rescheduled to sometime in the evening.

"Don't mention it," she waved him off with a smile. "It's not like you could've skipped out on helping your grandpa at the shop."

Yugi tried not to flinch and shared a sad look with Yami out of the corner of his eye. "Right." Yugi hated lying to Alex, but there was no way he could explain what he actually did at night. Even after all the magic and mayhem he and the gang had been through he still had trouble wrapping his head around it all sometimes. And he had been there.

Alex shot him a look sensing the change in his mood, but before she could say anything the professor started the lecture.

"Good morning everyone. Before I continue where we left off last week with the mummification process, the dean has asked all the professors to make an announcement to their classes. As you might've heard, there's been several reports of suspicious looking men lurking around campus and young women who think they're being followed. It has come to the attention of the college that there have now been disappearances."

Yugi and Yami's eyes narrowed at the news. _They're escalating._

 _ **I know. We have to put a stop to it.**_

"Try not to be out after dark, and if you do have to, please make sure you walk with a friend, or several, and stay in crowded areas," The professor finished. "Now, getting back into Egypt…"

"Alex," Yugi whispered.

"Yeah?" she asked leaning closer to him.

"Don't you usually practice with the gymnastics team until really late on Wednesdays and Thursdays?" Yugi asked worried.

"Yeah, but I always walk home with a couple of the girls," she smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be careful Yugi."

Yugi sat back only marginally reassured. If his and Yami's suspicions were right, there was very little Alex or any other human would be able to do to protect themselves from these men.

* * *

"Class dismissed."

Yugi and Alex packed up their bags and started walking to meet up with their friends.

"So, where do you think we should go for lunch Yugi?" Alex asked.

"Well-"

"Wait, let me guess, you're about to say Burger World," Alex teased.

Yugi laughed. "You could be right about that."

"Hey Yug! Short Stuff!"

Yugi and Alex turned, the latter scowling, to see Tristan, Tea, and the person who had greeted them, Joey.

"For the last time Joey, don't call me Short Stuff!" Alex yelled.

"Jus' sayin' it like it is," Joey teased.

"That is not how it is! In case you missed it, you're a freaking giant!"

Yugi couldn't help but grin as he watched Alex go back and forth with Joey. He had to admit, it was nice to not be the shortest in his friend group anymore after his long awaited growth spurt. He might not be anywhere near Joey and Tristan's heights, but he was at least taller than Tea and Alex. Not that Alex was that much shorter than him, only a couple of inches really, but still. He turned to look at Yami, only to find the pharaoh fixated on the fight with an intense, unreadable expression. _Yami? Are you ok?_

Yami seemed to jump slightly, and shook his head as if to clear it. _**Yes aibou, I'm fine.**_ Yami smiled at Yugi.

 _If you're sure…_

 _ **I am.**_

"Hello? Earth to Yugi?" A hand waved in front of his face.

"Wah! What?!" Yugi stumbled back at the sudden appearance of the hand.

Alex giggled. "Honestly Yugi, you can be such a space case sometimes. Come on, do you want to go to Burger World or not?"

"Of course I want to go to Burger World! What kind of a question is that?" Yugi exclaimed.

"Well come on! Last one there is a slimy Marshmellon!"

"Hey! I like Marshmellon!" Yugi shouted running after her.

"Then you won't mind losing for once!"

Yami watched them for a moment before retreating back into the puzzle. There was something different about Alex. He'd always known it, but he could never quite figure out what it was. All he knew was that it wasn't a bad kind of different, and he was the only one that sensed it. Even Yugi noticed nothing, which was very rare since they shared a mind. Shaking thoughts of the pretty brunette away, Yami settled down in the puzzle to get some rest. He had work to do tonight.

* * *

"See you later boys."

"Huh?" Joey said looking up at Tea and Alex who were packing their things. "Where are you two going?"

"We're going shopping and having some girl time this afternoon before Alex's gymnastics practice later," Tea said leaning down to give Yugi a kiss goodbye. Alex grinned at the goofy smile on his face when Tea pulled away again. They really were a cute couple.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow," Alex called over her shoulder as the girls left Burger World.

"So are we looking for anything specific today or are we just browsing?" Tea asked as they walked down the street towards the mall.

"Well," Alex considered. "I _was_ thinking about getting a new dress…"

"Ooooo, has Alex _finally_ got herself a hot date?" Tea teased.

"Hardly," Alex laughed. "But I'm doing a presentation in one of my classes next week and none of the few dresses I have seemed right."

"Pffft, boring," Tea said. "Seriously Alex when was the last time you went out?"

Alex thought about it. "You know, I'm not actually sure." Tea gave her a look. "What? I just haven't found anyone who caught my eye, that's all. Not all of us can have the perfect love story like you and Yugi."

Tea blushed slightly. "I'd hardly call our relationship perfect."

"Uh-huh," Alex said not convinced. Tea's reply was cut off by the sound of Alex's text message alert going off.

"Who is it?" Tea asked curiously.

"Seto. He wants my opinion on something and wanted to know if I can drop by his office later," Alex said as she typed her response.

Tea nodded, then her eyes widened as she thought of something. "You're not in some kind of secret relationship with Kaiba are you?!"

Alex tripped and nearly dropped her phone in shock. "Of course not! Where the hell did that come from?!" she frowned.

"Well you haven't gone on any dates in _forever_ and Kaiba's not the type of person to easily make friends…" Tea trailed off.

"I _told_ you Tea, I haven't dated anyone because no one has caught my eye. And I've also told you guys a million times that Seto and I are just friends."

Admittedly, it was an unlikely friendship. They had met on Christmas Eve. It was late and very dark and Alex had been running through the streets of Domino like a crazy person.

 _The rain was cold and sharp as she ran through the dark. She had no idea where she was going all she knew was she had to run. Get away. Anywhere to escape this nightmare. They weren't dead, there's no way that all of her family and friends were dead. Just earlier this evening they had been sitting around her home trading Christmas presents at her family's annual party._

 _The doctor's voice ran out in her head again. "Fire broke out… house was consumed in moments… you lost consciousness from smoke inhalation but someone pulled you out before the house collapsed… you're lucky to be alive… they couldn't get anyone else in time… only survivor."_

 _She sobbed again and pushed her legs harder to get away from the hospital, not realizing she was running into the middle of a street. The bright headlights seemed to appear out of nowhere. She froze._

 _The car managed to shriek to a halt mere inches before her legs._

" _What the hell do you think you're doing?" a man, no boy, demanded as he got out of the back of the limo. The girl just looked at him with blank glassy eyes. "I nearly hit you!" he yelled._

 _She continued to stare at him for a moment before she finally whispered, "That's what I was hoping for." She then collapsed into sobs and fell into his very surprised arms._

The boy happened to be a fifteen year old Seto Kaiba on his way home from work. Not entirely sure why he did, Seto comforted Alex and managed to pull the story out of her. He sympathized with her, after all he knew what it was like to lose one's parents and their whole life in the blink of an eye. Feeling a duty to take care of her and protect her he took Alex in. Social workers eventually came around, but after a few meetings with Kaiba Corp lawyers, Alex was allowed to stay in the Kaiba mansion rather than go into foster care. She still attended her old high school rather than switch to Domino High with Seto since she only had a couple years of school left. And once she got her feet under her and gathered some funds she moved into her own apartment.

Shaking the memories away, Alex focused back on her conversation with Tea. "Seto and Mokuba are like brothers to me. Actually, scratch that. They are my brothers. In every way except by blood."

Tea held up her hands in defeat. "Ok, ok, forget I said anything. OOOOOOO, I just spotted a dress that was made for you!" Tea grabbed Alex's hand and raced into the store with her where they spent the rest of the afternoon.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Alex groaned as she stretched again. "Man, coach was brutal today," she complained. Her two teammates made noises of agreement, too tired to do much more than that. It was dark and the three of them were walking home after a long gymnastics practice.

"I'm not surprised that you're hurting, that was a pretty spectacular stumble you made off the balance beam earlier," Brittany nudged her with a smirk.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Alex said rolling her eyes. "That was so embarrassing. And my wrist stills stings like a bitch from the scratches I got when I face planted on the floor."

"Who could've imagined the Queen of the Gym was actually capable of making a mistake? Never mind falling," Angela snickered.

Alex rolled her eyes good naturedly and bickered with her friends. Suddenly though, she heard some hissing, and a crash coming from the alley on her right.

Normally she would've kept walking. After all it was probably just a couple of alley cats fighting over scraps. But some gut feeling was telling - no demanding - that she check it out.

"Hey guys? Go ahead, I just have to check something," she called ahead to her teammates.

"Are you sure?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah, we're only a couple of blocks from my apartment anyway. Go on ahead and I'll see you guys at practice tomorrow," Alex said, hoping it was enough to get rid of them.

"Ok see you then," they both waved at her and kept walking.

Alex watched them for a moment before carefully making her way into the alley. "Hello?" she called. Silence was what met her.

"Is there anyone there?" This time she thought she heard a faint groan. Deciding that it was too dark to make anything out she dug her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight. At first she thought there was nothing there, but when she looked around again she caught sight of a leg poking out from behind some bins off to one side. Quickly she made her way over and found a person attached to the leg.

"Oh my Ra, are you alright?!" There was no answer or movement, so she fell to her knees beside the person and rolled them over. Her eyes widened. There was blood everywhere. It covered the man, making him look paler than he already was. But the most horrific thing for Alex was that she knew this man very well.

"YUGI! No, no, no…" Alex said as she searched for the wound. She finally found a gash on his abdomen and pushed against it hard with her left hand to try and stop the bleeding. She put her right hand on his cheek and tapped his face gently. "Yugi please, please wake up. Please, you can't…"

She cried in relief when Yugi shifted under her hands and groaned. "Oh thank Ra," she said. "Yugi?" This time when he groaned his eyes slowly opened. Alex's heart stopped for the second time that night. It might've been dark, but in that moment, she swore that Yugi's eyes had turned red. And perhaps scarier, there was no recognition in them at all.

She started to pull away from him, but before she could blink she was trapped underneath him while he held her right hand, gently, but in an unescapable grip, in place against his face. For a moment they just stared at each other. This was not like Yugi. Alex couldn't ignore that all her inner alarm bells were going off and telling her she had to get away from her friend NOW. "Um, Yugi?" she asked trying to wiggle out from under him. He gave no sign of having heard her and drew his gaze to her wrist. More specifically the small graze she had on her wrist from her earlier fall.

He took a deep breath. "Has anyone ever told you," he said in a voice much deeper than she'd ever heard from Yugi, "That you smell absolutely delicious?" He flashed her a predatory smirk that made Alex stop breathing. Because it didn't matter that it was dark, Alex knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that there were fangs in Yugi's mouth.

"Yugi," Alex said, trying to not let her voice shake. "What the hell is going on?"

"I thought that was rather obvious. You have something I need. You don't mind if I take a sip or so, do you?" Yugi said nuzzling her wrist.

It suddenly occurred to Alex that her other hand was still stemming the blood flow over Yugi's stomach. Assuming that neither she nor Yugi had lost it (honestly she wasn't totally convinced), he implied that he needed her blood. What if… Oh Ra it was crazy, but what if he needed it to heal his wound? Didn't that kind of thing happen in Hollywood vampire movies? Could she really deny him if it might save his life? One of her closest friends in the whole world?

No. So, despite every red flag and alarm, and the absolute certainty she had that she was going crazy, she said, "Go ahead Yugi. Take what you need." Alex closed her eyes bracing for the sting. Instead she received silence.

"A-Alex?"

Alex's eyes shot open. "Yugi?" His expression had changed. There was still hunger to be sure, but also recognition, pain, and… fear.

"Alex, I can't let go," Yugi said.

"You don't have to. You said need my blood, so take it," Alex smiled at him, trying to sound more sure than she felt about the whole situation.

"I-I can't. I'm hungry and injured, I'd kill you before I could stop Alex," Yugi whispered his whole body beginning to tremble with opposing urges.

"I trust you," Alex told him. She didn't realize it until the words were out of her mouth, but they were true. Despite the absolute insanity of the situation, she trusted him anyway.

Yugi's eyes hardened. "You shouldn't."

When Alex blinked again she was alone in the alley. "Yugi?" she called. There was no answer. After looking around the alley there was no sign Yugi had ever even been there except for the blood on the ground and her hands.

* * *

The shock didn't really hit her until she got back to her apartment and got in the shower. Trembling and trying not to hyperventilate she sat on the floor of her shower trying to sort through her thoughts.

She had met Yugi three years ago. On her first day of college in her Intro to Ancient Egypt class. She already knew him as the King of Games of course, but it wasn't long before he became a good friend too. He was actually her first friend, except Seto and Mokuba, since the fire when she was fifteen.

Yugi welcomed her with open arms. He introduced her to all his friends, showed her his favourite restaurant, the game shop where he lived, everything. He was the kind of guy with unlimited kindness and generosity, who still acted more like a kid than an adult, and who could scarf burgers like there was no tomorrow.

Apparently, he was also a vampire.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Yugi was hiding. Currently, his hiding place was his room, face down on his bed, with his face mashed into his pillow. The translucent form of the pharaoh had his forearm braced on the opposite wall and was looking down at the floor. Neither of them reacted when Yugi's phone buzzed from the desk and then went to voicemail. They both knew who it was.

 _ **I am so sorry Yugi,**_ Yami said for what must have been the hundredth time.

 _It's not your fault Yami,_ Yugi replied not moving an inch. _It's not like you wanted to get jumped and stabbed in an alley._

 _ **I lost control though.**_ Yami's hands clenched into fists.

At that Yugi did sit up. He made his way over to Yami and put his hand on the other's shoulder. _You can't hold yourself to expectations of perfection Yami, it's not fair to yourself._

Yami snorted. _**Yugi, I nearly killed Alex. I deserve much worse than this.**_

 _But you didn't kill her._

They were both silent for a moment. Yugi's phone buzzed again.

 _She's not giving up. It's been five days and if anything she's only gotten more persistent._

Yami didn't respond. He couldn't get the image of Alex, her eyes wide with fear and pinned under him, out of his head. That, and the thoughts of what had almost been, haunted him. It was all too easy to imagine her pale, cold body in his arms or her glassy eyes staring up at him. Yami's stomach rolled for the millionth time at the thought. He might never have spoken or interacted directly with Alex like he had with their other friends, yet she was just as dear to him as any of them.

It actually made him nervous at how terrified he was at the thought of Alex being injured. It surpassed his worries for their friends and even rivalled his concern for Yugi.

Not receiving an answer from Yami, Yugi sighed and went back to his bed lying down again. After Yami had run from Alex and fed on a mugger a few streets over, they hid. Neither of them had any idea how to approach Alex. What kind of explanation or apology would even begin to cover what happened? So, Yugi had started ignoring all his calls and stopped going to class. Yami stayed on the other side of town when he hunted at night. And when Alex started coming to the shop, Gramps intercepted her and gave her various excuses as to why Yugi was unavailable.

For the time being though, they had decided to hide in his room given that he and Alex were supposed to be in class right now.

"YUGI MOUTO!"

'Supposed to be' being the key words. Yugi bolted upright and shared a panicked look with Yami.

Before either of them could do or say anything Yugi's bedroom door slammed open revealing a very angry Alex.

"I'm sorry Yugi, I couldn't stop her," Grandpa said from behind Alex.

Yugi sighed. "Don't worry about it Grandpa. I had it coming. Go on I'll be fine."

Grandpa looked back and forth between Alex and Yugi for a moment before deciding to let them figure out whatever it was between themselves. After the door closed behind Grandpa they stood in silence. Yugi had no idea where to even start and the waves of fury rolling off of Alex were not helping.

"I'm waiting for some kind of explanation you know," Alex seethed.

"Alex-"

"No! No! What the HELL is wrong with you Yugi?!" Alex yelled, pacing back and forth.

Yugi flinched. That hurt. "I-"

"You were BLEEDING OUT YUGI. You needed HELP, you NEEDED my blood, you even said so YOURSELF and you RAN AWAY."

Yugi shared a flabbergasted look with Yami before looking back at Alex, "Wait-"

"NO! I WILL NOT WAIT! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR FIVE DAYS YUGI! Waiting for you to call me and let me know you were ok and why you got STABBED and how I could help and why the hell you even needed my blood and why you RAN AWAY!" Alex was quickly becoming an alarming shade of red as she stopped and glared at him.

Yugi stared with his jaw hanging for a second. After several tries he was able to find his voice, "THAT'S why you're mad?"

"OF COURSE THAT'S WHY I'M MAD! WHY ELSE WOULD I BE MAD?!"

"It's just that, well, you're not mad I didn't tell you about… you know, or that I almost… k- killed you?" Yugi stumbled over his words staring at the ground playing with his fingers.

He heard Alex heave a heavy sigh. "No Yugi, I'm not mad about that. Slightly freaked out and still pondering my sanity? Maybe. But not mad. After all how could you have told me about what you are? I'd have never believed you if I hadn't seen it. Despite the fact that I saw it, it took me two days to really come to grips with it. And I know you. Even if you completely lost yourself you'd never be able to kill anyone, never mind a friend. I've just been so worried about you."

Yugi stared at the floor meekly.

And his eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets when he felt her arms wrap around him in a hug. "I'm sorry Yugi."

"No!" Yugi said hugging her back quickly. "No, you have every right to be angry Alex, don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing. I've just had so much trouble trying to figure out what to say."

"Well," Alex said timidly. "If you want you can tell me anything. Everything. Just start at the beginning. If you want."

Yugi smiled hesitantly. "I'd love to."

They both sat on the bed and Yugi took a deep breath. "It all started twelve years ago when I was eight. Gramps knew how much I loved puzzles and how lonely I was at school so he gave me something to fill the time. The Millennium Puzzle. An ancient puzzle found in a pharaoh's tomb that no one has ever been able to solve. But then one day when I was fourteen, I did." He looked down at the puzzle for a moment running his fingers over it.

"That's it isn't is?" Alex said nodding down at the puzzle. "That pendant you wear is the Millennium Puzzle?"

Yugi nodded. "From that point on I started having black outs all the time, especially at night. And all these things started happening to people I knew. Bullies and criminals, anyone who treated my friends or I badly would turn up crazy, or missing, or even dead a few days later. That's also when reports of animal attacks started. Low lifes and criminals being bitten and thrown around in back alleys. It wasn't until I entered the Duelist Kingdom tournament that I found out about what had been happening."

He stopped to catch his breath and think about his next words. Alex reached out and held his hand waiting for when he was ready. He gave her a small smile and continued.

"There's another personality living inside my Millennium Puzzle. He usually only comes out at night because the puzzle forces him out as soon as it's dark every night. But he can, and does, come out with some difficulty during the day. To protect us or to help me duel."

"And this other personality-" Alex started.

"Yami," Yugi corrected.

"Yami," Alex said. "Is a vampire?"

"Yes."

"So you're a vampire?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. Yami has enhanced senses, strength, speed and a need to consume blood about twice a week. I have none of that and will always prefer burgers over any other kind of food," Yugi smiled.

"Does anyone else know?" Alex asked. "Joey, or Tristan, or – oh my Ra please tell me Tea knows. I can't know this kind of thing before your girlfriend does."

"Whoa, whoa! Relax Alex!" Yugi said holding his hands up. "The whole gang knows. So does Gramps and the Kaibas. It'd be pretty hard to keep it from them after everything we've been through."

"Sounds like quite the adventure," Alex said.

"You don't know the half of it," Yugi smirked.

"Tell me," Alex said.

So he did. All of it. Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, The Big Five, Noa, Dartz, everything. He told her about their discoveries that Yami was the ancient Nameless Pharaoh and the other Millennium Items and his missing memories.

"So he still doesn't remember anything?" Alex asked sadly.

Yugi shook his head. "We tried. After the KC Grand Championship and the whole incident in India we all travelled to Egypt and showed the God Cards to the stone tablet, but… nothing happened."

"And Malik and Ishizu didn't know why?"

"No. To their knowledge, Yami did everything right. Their scriptures say that when the Pharaoh stands in front of the tablet of memories, with his love and his friends to support him, he may present a likeness of the Gods to the tablet and his memories will be revealed. We had the God Cards, we all stood in front of the tablet and he focused on his love for all his friends but nothing happened."

They both just sat as Alex processed everything she just learned. "Wait a second. You're telling me that Seto knew about this, all of it, and never told me?"

Yugi couldn't help the smirk that crawled onto his face. "Seto knows about it but he refuses to believe any of it. He will literally come up with any excuse no matter how unlikely or far-fetched to try and explain everything. I'm also pretty sure he forbade Mokuba from talking about it."

Alex rolled her eyes at the antics of her adopted brother before they lapsed into silence again. Alex opened her mouth a few times to try and say something, but kept closing it again. Yugi watched her struggle for a minute before gently saying, "You can ask me anything Alex. You deserve the answers."

Alex took a deep breath. "Can I- can I meet him?"

Yugi blinked, before he looked at Yami who looked almost… panicked. Alex followed his gaze and looked at the spot where Yami was standing hopefully. Yami looked back and forth between the two of them before sighing and giving a single nod. Yugi looked back at Alex with a smile. Alex grinned at him.

"Thanks Yugi. For everything," she said leaning forward to hug him.

"Anytime," he said before scooting back and closing his eyes.

Alex watched as a warm golden glow emitted from Yugi's puzzle. His bangs straightened up into lighten bolts, his features sharpened, and his height grew several inches. Finally his eyes opened revealing red opposed to Yugi's violet.

"Hello again Yami," Alex smiled.

"Hello Alex," Yami replied looking uncomfortable.

They sat in silence awkwardly.

"Alex… On Wednesday night… I'm so-" he was suddenly cut off by gentle fingers on his lips.

"If the next word out of your mouth is sorry, I'm going to have to kick your butt," Alex said lightly.

"But-"

"No buts. I don't blame you for what happened and I'm not mad," Alex said smiling.

Silence enveloped the pair again.

"So," Alex said. "You're a vampire."

"Yes," Yami said looking down.

"You have enhanced strength, speed, and senses. And you drink blood. Anything else I should know?" Alex asked lightly. "I mean you don't have a garlic allergy or something right?"

Yami chuckled. "No garlic, crosses, holy water, none of that will affect me. I don't need to be invited in to enter a house. I'm not bullet, or knife, proof as you saw. I heal faster than a human, but for larger injuries I need blood to heal. I think if you shoved a stake through the heart of anything it'd probably be enough to kill it." Alex frowned at him, but Yami continued. "Sunlight doesn't do anything to me except cause some minor discomfort, although we've come to realize that it's deadly to other vampires."

"Timeout," Alex said with wide eyes. " _Other_ vampires?!"

"Yes," Yami sighed. "There are other vampires in the world. They mostly stick to dark, isolated places though."

Alex took a second to process that fact. Then she moved on to the big question. "And you don't have to kill when you feed?"

"No." Internally Alex breathed a small sigh of relief. While she never would have held it against him if he did, it was nice to know that her friend's really hot spirit friend didn't have to kill to live. _Wait, really hot? Where did that come from?_ Alex asked herself.

"So how does this whole sharing a mind and body thing work?" Alex asked.

And so it continued. For hours, Yami answered her questions and explained his and Yugi's situation as best he could. And when she ran out of questions, they continued to talk, and trade stories, and get to know each other.

Eventually they lapsed into a comfortable silence, laying side by side on the bed and looking up through the skylight. Yami turned his head so he could look at Alex's profile. He felt contentment sweep through him and his heart started to beat a little faster.

Frowning at the reaction he reached out to Yugi. _**Yugi, I think something is wrong with our body. Our heart does not seem to be functioning properly.**_

Yami could feel Yugi smirking in his head. _Trust me Yami, our heart is just fine._

 _ **Then what is it doing? And why?**_

 _You like Alex._

Yami frowned. _**Of course I like Alex. Why wouldn't I? She's a respectable woman with great wit, intelligence, humor, loyalty, and kindness. She is a great friend.**_

Yugi snickered. _Yeah, Alex and_ I _make good friends, but_ you _like her as MORE than a friend._

 _ **I do not understand.**_

 _You like Alex the way I like Tea._

Yami's frowned deepened. _**That cannot be right. We barely know each other. I am not even human. I am a vampire. A SPIRIT vampire.**_

"You know, if you keep frowning like that much longer your face will be stuck like that."

Yami blinked. Realizing the voice had come from outside rather than within he focused on Alex's face which held a fond, teasing smile. He smiled a little sheepishly in response.

"You were talking to Yugi weren't you?" she asked.

"Yes," Yami replied.

"All those times he just dropped out of a conversation or stared off into space…" Alex said shaking her head while smiling. "I was starting to get a little worried."

"I am sorry Alex."

"Don't be. What were you guys talking about?"

Yami snorted, "Logic and love."

Alex outright laughed at that. "You do realize that the two rarely go together right?"

Yami just smiled in response and let the sound of her laughter fill his ears. And ignored Yugi's self-satisfied smirk in his head.

Eventually, Alex's giggles tapered off and another comfortable silence fell. She frowned suddenly as something occurred to her though. "How did you end up in that alley unconscious and bleeding all over the place?"

At that Yami's face darkened considerably. "I was snuck up on and attacked. Normally that wouldn't have been possible but I was weak. I went too long without feeding because I was distracted."

"You just said you have enhanced senses. How was someone able to sneak up on you?" Alex asked surprised.

Yami sighed. "Because they also had enhanced senses."

Alex's eyes widened. "There are other vampires out to get you?"

"A few, yes. I suspect they are the ones responsible for the disappearances of young women around campus," Yami said reluctantly.

"That's why they attacked you isn't it? Because you were investigating them?" Alex asked. Yami nodded. "And you were distracted from feeding because of this investigation?" He nodded again. "Idiot." He looked at her with wide eyes.

"You put yourself in danger by not feeding and you got hurt because of it!" Alex exclaimed.

Yami's eyes narrowed. "I need to take care of these people and quickly. If that means I have to wait to feed, so be it."

"You could've died Yami!" Alex yelled jumping off the bed. She might've just officially met him but the thought of a dead Yami was horrifying.

"A small price to pay to make sure you and the rest of our friends are safe!" Yami said also standing.

"I can take care of myself you know," Alex frowned.

"On Wednesday night I was half dead and I still nearly killed you Alex. With ease!"

Alex crossed her arms. "I told you I'm not scared of you Yami! I told you I trust you!"

"And I told you not to! I'm dangerous Alex! I've killed people!" Yami roared.

Alex's glare was ice. "You can try to intimidate me as much as you like Yami but it won't change a thing. You might not like it but I _do_ trust you. With my life. You may have killed people, but I _know_ you wouldn't hurt an innocent person or someone who didn't deserve it." As she spoke she got closer. Yami kept backing away but eventually he had nowhere left to go and he found himself backed against a wall.

"Alex," Yami said through gritted teeth. "You need to back up _now_."

"And why is that?" Alex demanded.

"Because you have the most potent blood I've ever smelled and even under normal conditions I find it hard to resist you. Right now when we're both angry everything is heightened and I'm barely holding on to my control," Yami said his fangs flashing.

For a moment it seemed like Alex was determined to push her luck, but finally she backed off. Yami sighed with relief. They stood in silence.

"You should go home before it gets dark Alex."

Alex searched his eyes. "Fine," she finally replied. "Tell Yugi I have his notes." With that she turned and left.

 _That… probably could've gone better._

 _ **She needs to understand what she's dealing with Yugi.**_

 _I think she does. Do you?_

Yami sighed heavily. _**I cannot have feelings for Alex. It will not end well for any of us.**_

 _I don't believe that._

 _ **You are too optimistic.**_

 _And you're too pessimistic._

 _ **I'll hurt her.**_

 _You'll hurt her more by pushing her away,_ Yugi said gently.

Yami didn't reply. Instead he got dressed and left the shop. He needed to hunt.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day found Alex and Yugi both back in class. Not entirely sure what to expect Yugi gave her a tentative smile when he sat down and relaxed when she beamed back at him. The morning passed without incident, going to their classes and talking about mundane things. It wasn't until they were on their way to lunch that Yugi worked up the courage to ask what had been on his mind. "Alex, are you still mad at Yami?"

She looked at him with a sidelong look and a hint of a smile. "Is that you asking or him?"

"Me," Yugi replied. Then he tacked on, "But he's listening."

 _ **Aibou!**_

Yugi grinned unrepentantly.

Alex sighed and her smile fell. "A little bit. I mean, you know how much I _hate_ being treated like a china doll."

Yugi grimaced. He did know. Alex had training in a couple different martial arts and she threw a mean right hook. He'd seen it once when a really sexist guy in one of their classes started making comments about women. Said guy now made a point of sitting on the opposite side of the room from Alex.

Yugi sighed too. "Alex, Yami and I both know you're not some delicate flower, but you have to understand. Vampires are a completely different category than humans. If you don't specifically train to fight them, you don't have a prayer."

Alex glared at the ground. "Yeah, I figured. I don't like it, but I know." She was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "I guess that's not really why I'm upset with Yami. I just… I don't understand why he blew up about me trusting him and then pushing me away so hard. We were having a great afternoon, getting to know each other and becoming friends and then he totally shut down. You said in your explanations that he let you and Tea and Joey and Tristan in. He's even friends with a few other people. Why not me? Unless he actually doesn't like me at all and just didn't want to say so yesterday-"

"Alex."

The deep voice saying her name and the hand on her shoulder made her stop her rambling. She slowly turned and looked up into wine coloured eyes.

"Do not ever think I don't like you," Yami said solemnly. "I am sorry I made you feel such self-doubt. I enjoyed yesterday afternoon very much too." He took a breath to prepare for what he knew he needed to say. "I am afraid Alex."

Alex's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. " _You_ are afraid of _me_?"

Yami chuckled. "Not exactly." Then he became serious again. "I'm afraid of you getting hurt. I know, as you said yesterday, that you can take care of yourself, but it still could happen. Especially when dealing with vampires. And it feels like ice runs in my veins when I think of how close you came to getting hurt last week. Worse, is the fact that it would've been done by my own hand." He clenched his eyes shut trying to dispel the images. They flew open again though at the touch of a gentle hand against the side of his face.

"I still don't believe you would have hurt me that night or ever will," Alex started. She held up a hand when he started to protest and continued, "But I can see that it haunts you, so how about this. If I promise to be more careful and not offer myself up to any hungry vampires, will you let me be your friend?"

Yami smiled. "I'd like that." The wind picked up slightly and played with Alex's hair. He gently caught a strand with his fingers and tucked it back behind her ear. Alex's breath caught in her throat at the gesture and when he kept his hand where it was. She could feel her heart quicken slightly when she looked into his eyes. They were so beautiful, she felt like she could drown in them…

"Hey Yug'! Short Stuff!"

Like an electric shock they jumped apart from where they were unconsciously leaning towards each other. _I may have underestimated how much I like Yami,_ Alex mused to herself while a spectacular blush formed.

"You feelin' alright Alex?" Joey asked with a slight frown as he, Tristan, and Tea caught up with her and Yami.

"Of course, why?" Alex asked quickly.

"Well you're all flushed and you haven't yelled at me for calling you Short Stuff. You sure you don't have a fever or somethin'?"

Alex felt herself grow redder but ignored it and gathered all the dignity and huffiness she could muster. "Maybe I just decided not to deign to answer to such a ridiculous nickname," she said turning her nose up and crossing her arms.

Tristan snorted.

"I think she's fine," Tea said with a grin.

"Where ya been Yug'? We were start ta get-" Joey stopped as he realized that Yugi wasn't in control at the moment. Thinking that because Yami was out in the middle of the day and around Alex who didn't know Yami existed, Joey went on high alert. "Hey are you feeling alright Yug'? Anything going on?"

Catching on, Tea and Tristan started to subtly look for anything out of the ordinary too.

Alex tried not to giggle as she realized what the three of them were thinking and hid an evil smile. "Hey guys, don't you think Yugi looks different today?"

"What? No! No of course not! What makes you think that?" Joey said quickly.

"I'm not sure… He almost seems like a different person…" Alex mused tapping her chin thoughtfully. It took every ounce of restraint she had to not laugh at the expression on her three friends' faces.

"Alex," Yami said smiling and rolling his eyes at her antics. "Enough."

"Oh alright Yami," she said giving in with a smile.

"Wait, you know about Yami?!" Tristan exclaimed. Looking between the pair of them.

"She stumbled across me while I was hunting last week," Yami explained.

"Well this makes everything easier. Now there are no more secrets between us!" Tea said with a smile.

"I'm glad. Now Tea, about this shopping trip this weekend…" Alex said linking her arm with the other girl and walking away.

Joey stared at the pair of them for a moment before grumbling and fishing a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket. He glared sullenly as he slapped it into Tristan's hand.

"Told you she wouldn't run screaming when she found out," Tristan said smugly.

Yami's jaw dropped as he watched the exchange. "Wait, you two bet on whether or not Alex would find out about me?"

"Of course not," Tristan said. "We all knew she'd find out eventually. We were betting on her reaction."

Yami continued to stare at them before he slapped them both on the back of the head. "Idiots," he grumbled. "Let's go."

Still rubbing the backs of their heads Tristan and Joey let Yami get a little bit ahead of them before they grinned slyly at each other. "Fifty bucks says Alex and Yami are a couple by the end of the semester," Joey whispered.

"I'll take that bet, but I bet it's the end of the month," Tristan shot back.

"You're underestimating Yami's stubbornness."

"And you're underestimating Alex's determination."

They just grinned at each other before racing to catch up with the others.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A couple of weeks later found things more or less back to normal. Yugi was back in school and caught up, thanks to Alex, the gang went out to Burger World for lunch almost every day, and everyone cracked jokes. Usually at Joey's expense. The only difference was that Yami made more appearances on group outings.

As the days passed Alex found herself drawn more and more to Yami, and though he would never admit it, he felt the same. Of course Yugi helped matters by forcing Yami out of the puzzle more than once so that the two could spend time together. Gradually though, Yugi didn't have to push Yami as hard. Before very long Yami had decided to walk Alex home from gymnastics practice every night. His excuse was that he was making sure the rogue vampires weren't attacking the people he considered friends, which was partially true, but Yugi knew the main reason was because Yami wanted to spend time with Alex.

However, Yami was not particularly impressed the night that he had to carry Alex home.

After a few minutes of silence he finally asked, "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Alex fidgeted in his arms embarrassed. "I didn't see the girl walking across the floor and I went to do a tumbling pass. When we crashed into each other I messed up my ankle and knee," she said looking down at her hands.

"Alex." Yami stopped walking and waited for Alex to look at him. "What's going on? I know you, I've seen you at your competitions before, and I know you don't make mistakes like that. Not unless something is distracting you. And this isn't the first injury you've had lately. Not to mention the circles under your eyes you've been trying to hide. Has something happened? Is someone bothering you?"

Seeing his anger rising at the thought of someone upsetting her she quickly tried to calm him. "No! No one is bugging me!"

"Then what is?" he asked softly, anger draining away.

"I just haven't been sleeping well," she said looking away.

"Why?"

Alex started fidgeting again. "You won't like it."

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Tell me."

Alex sighed but complied. "I've been having dreams."

"Nightmares?" Yami prodded and started walking again when she didn't continue.

"I- I suppose. There's one, the main one, I've been having it for years. It's so vivid. Not like any other dream I've ever had," she started. "It's not very long. Only a few moments. There's a person holding me and they're crying. And more than anything I want to help them but I can't move. And then I die."

At that Yami stiffened and his step faltered but he kept walking. "You said dreams. More than one?"

Alex sighed and nodded. "Yes. The rest aren't quite as clear though and they just started a few weeks ago. They always take place somewhere different. Sometimes I see Yugi or Seto's faces but they're gone before I can speak to them. I never know what's happening, all I know is I'm searching for something and someone is after me."

"And you can't see this person?" Yami asked frowning.

"No. Sometimes I think I see a flash of gold and white out of the corner of my eye but it disappears so fast."

Yami walked in silence and considered. The dreams were likely a result of the disappearing girls, the rogue vampires, and Alex's worry for her fellow students and friends. Try as he might though, he just couldn't find the vampire enemies' base.

But what if… What if they weren't just dreams? What if they were visions of the future? What if something happened to him? What if Yugi and Alex got hurt because he couldn't protect them?

 _Yami you can't think like that,_ Yugi's voice said.

 _ **You're right aibou. I'm sure they're just dreams. But that means, at least subconsciously, Alex feels unsafe and she's losing sleep over it. How can I fix it?**_

Just as he finished his thought they arrived at Alex's apartment building. Normally this was where they parted ways, but seeing as Alex couldn't walk he supposed he would need to carry her up to her apartment. He walked up to the front door of the building but realized Alex was lost in thought.

"Alex? Do you have your keys?"

"What? Oh! Yeah they're right here," she said digging them out and unlocking the door. "I'm in apartment 2B. Up the elevator and to the left."

He followed her instructions and waited for her to unlock her own door before depositing her on her couch and looking around. It was small, but cozy, with red and gold accents everywhere. __It suited her.

"I should go," he said after she was settled and comfortable.

"Yami wait," she said catching his hand. He turned back to her with questioning eyes. "Do you think… just for tonight… you could stay?"

Yami blinked.

"Please?" Alex asked.

 _You wanted a way to make her feel safer,_ Yugi pointed out.

 _ **Yes, because it is much safer to have a vampire sleeping in the same apartment as her,**_ Yami said wryly.

 _C'mon, you fed just last night. And we both know you want to stay and make sure she's safe._

"Alright," Yami said to them both. He felt his heart pound at Alex's answering smile.

She told him where she kept her spare linens (she tried to get them herself but he wouldn't let her up) so he could make a bed on the couch and then she got ready for bed. "Good night Yugi. Good night Yami," she said from the doorway of her bedroom.

Yami smiled slightly at the pyjama shirt that was about three sizes too big for her and the Dark Magician Girl pyjama pants. "Good night Alex."

She smiled and then shut the door. He listened to her breathing until he heard it slow and deepen indicated that she was asleep. Not really feeling like sleeping he poked around the apartment to check it's security. Satisfied, he settled back into the couch.

 _So when are you actually going to ask Alex out?_ Yugi asked.

 _ **How did the romantic night in with Tea go the other night?**_ Yami countered. He could feel Yugi's embarrassment across the bond.

 _That's private._

 _ **Well, since you insist that Alex and I are a couple then isn't our 'relationship' private too?**_ Yami asked grinning in victory.

 _Yeah ok fine,_ Yugi grumbled good naturedly. _Since you stay in the puzzle and make yourself scarce during my dates, I'll do the same on yours._

Yami rolled his eyes. Before he could say anything in response though his hearing picked up on something. Focusing he heard sounds of thrashing and whimpering coming from Alex's room. In an instant he was there. Looking around though, there was no intruder. No blood thirsty vampire at the window, no missing Alex. She was thrashing around in her bed having a nightmare.

Yami was quickly at her bedside trying to wake her up. "Alex. Alex, listen to me. It's only a nightmare. Wake up!" Alex's eyes flew open and she shot up. Seeing Yami she collapsed against him and cried. After a moment of uncertainty, his arms came up around her and he rubbed her back gently. After a few minutes she began to calm down and Yami started to pull away. He stopped though when hands fisted in his shirt and kept him in place.

"Please," Alex said already almost half asleep again against his chest. "Please don't leave me."

Yami didn't even waver seeing her in this state. "Never."

He pulled her against him and laid them both down on the bed. After tucking the blankets up around them Alex quickly started to drift off to sleep. Just before unconsciousness claimed her though, she felt the lightest brush of a kiss against her forehead. She didn't have a single nightmare the rest of the night.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"You like Yami don't you?"

" _What?"_ Alex yelped as she dropped the shoebox she was holding. Tea giggled when Alex winced at the bang it made when it landed.

"Sorry I didn't realize you were trying to be subtle. It's pretty obvious," Tea said perusing a rack of shirts on sale.

Alex blushed. "Oh. Well, I guess I do like Yami a bit…" Tea turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. "Ok, yeah I like Yami a lot."

Tea grinned. "Well I'm happy for the two of you."

Alex frowned slightly. "That's not weird to you? That I'm crushing on the spirit that inhabits the body of your boyfriend?"

The words hung in the air for a moment before both girls burst out laughing. "Well I have to say I never expected to say those words all together in a sentence," Alex giggled.

Tea wiped the tears from her eyes. "In all seriousness though, no it's not weird for me. Yugi and Yami are different people, similar as they are. They're like brothers. Who happen to live in the same body."

Alex thought about it and nodded. She didn't feel any jealousy when she saw Tea and Yugi together, so she supposed it was the same for Tea. "Wait a second," Alex said. "Did you say you were happy for the two of us?"

Tea rolled her eyes. "Honestly Alex, it's painfully obvious he likes you back. Joey and Tristan have a bet on when the two of you will finally get together."

Alex turned bright red. "I-"

"Big Sister!" Alex was cut off as she was suddenly engulfed in lanky arms and a mop of black hair.

"Hey Mokuba," Alex grinned patting his back as best she could with her arms pinned. "Do you think you can put me down?"

He did and Alex stepped back so she could look up at him. He had grown a lot of the last few years, he was almost as tall as his brother now. "Oh hey Tea," Mokuba said when he saw her. "Where's the rest of the gang?"

"Probably at the arcade. We're having girl time right now," Tea said. "We were just discussing Alex's new beau."

"Tea!" Alex hissed.

"What!? Wait does Seto know about this? Has he run a background check yet? What's this guy's name?" Mokuba demanded.

Alex sighed. "Thanks Tea." Tea just grinned and went back to browsing. "It's Yami." She finally admitted.

Mokuba's jaw dropped. "Wait what?"

"I have a crush on Yami," Alex said.

"And he likes her back!" Tea's voice came from behind another rack of clothes.

"You are really not helping right now Tea," Alex shouted back.

"How did you find out about Yami?" Mokuba asked with a frown. "And you didn't answer my question about whether Seto knows."

"It's a long story and no I haven't told him. Everyone told me about how Seto doesn't believe in Yami," Alex sighed.

Mokuba snorted, "Oh he knows, he just refuses to admit it."

Alex grinned. "Yep, that sounds like Seto."

Mokuba checked his watch. "Well, I was just in the area to pick up some soda. I have to head home and get some homework done."

"Ok, you be good and make sure you listen to Seto ok?" Alex said giving him a hug.

"Yes, Big Sister," Mokuba said.

Alex rolled her eyes as he trotted away and went to find Tea.

* * *

It was close to dinnertime when Tea and Alex left the mall with one shopping bag each. "Do you think we could convince the guys to meet up with us at Burger World?" Alex asked already texting them.

"I don't think it'll take that much convincing," Tea snorted.

They walked in silence as Alex finished sending the message and got confirmation from Yugi. Putting her phone away and looking up though, she saw the gorgeous sunset. "Look at that Tea," she said.

Tea wasn't watching as the sun fully slipped behind the horizon though. Her eyes were darting around their surroundings. Noticing this, Alex asked, "Are you ok Tea?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I just thought I heard something," Tea replied but she stayed alert.

"If you're sure," Alex said looking at her.

"Yeah I'm- Eep!" Tea yelped as a hand darted out of a dark alley and yanked her in.

"TEA!" Alex screamed. She ran in after her friend only to see her tussling with another person so fast her eyes barely even keep up. Instantly she had her phone out and pressed the speed dial for Yugi.

"Hey Alex! Where are-"

"Yugi!" Alex cut him off urgently. "We're a block away from Burger World on Emerson Street, Tea got hauled into an alley and is fighting-"

Suddenly Alex was slammed into a wall and her phone flew out of her hand. "Well, well, well. What a pretty little thing I've caught." A voice breathed against her neck. Alex froze for half second before she started fighting to free her wrists from either side of her head. She didn't move an inch. "I wouldn't bother trying to get away sweetheart. I'm three times stronger than you," The man said leering down at her. "Don't worry I'll take _real_ good care of you."

"I'd like to see you try," Alex spat and brought her knee up as hard as she could. He groaned as he keeled over, but he didn't let go of her.

"You little bitch!" Alex didn't even think to catch herself as he slapped her so hard her head snapped sideways and she fell on the ground. "I was gonna make this fun for both of us," he said gripping her chin roughly. Alex struggled to figure out which of his three heads was the real one. "But now, I'd rather not." Then there was a twin sting on her neck before her world exploded in pain.

She was being cut with a thousand knives. She was being burned alive. She was hit by a truck. Distantly Alex thought she heard the worst scream of pain she could ever imagine. It wasn't a tenth of the pain she felt.

Then there was a new sound. An enraged roar. A pressure was lifted off of her and the pain stopped. Alex gasped as she tried to get her bearings. Finally there was silence in the alley. "Alex!" There were warm hands cradling her. Strong and firm, but so gentle. "Alex! Alex, please open your eyes!" Were her eyes closed? When did that happen? And why did this seem so familiar?

Something was pressing against her mouth. "Alex drink this," the voice commanded. She struggled to swallow the liquid dripping into her mouth, but after a sip or two it became easier and she opened her eyes.

"Alex," Yami breathed as he pulled his bleeding wrist away.

"Hey," she murmured back. "What happened?"

"Tea was attacked by a vampire. You managed to call me before the second one attacked you. Tristan, Joey, and I ran as fast as we could. One of the vampires was… he was…" Yami struggled to get the words out.

"He fed on you," Tristan said quietly from over Yami's shoulder.

Yami's eyes were shut tight and he struggled to get his breathing under control. "We got him off you and the four of us got rid of them."

Alex waited for a moment but Yami seemed like he was done talking. Finally she prodded him, "And I was drinking from your bleeding wrist because…?"

Yami's lips quirked slightly but it didn't last. "Vampire blood has healing properties. At the very least you had a little blood loss but I'm pretty sure you had a concussion too."

"Insta-cure for all ailments. Cool," Alex nodded. Then she frowned. "Wait am I going to turn into a vampire now?"

Everyone laughed at that. "No," Yami said with a chuckle. "He only managed to take a few sips from you and I only gave you a few sips. It'd take a lot more than that to turn you."

"Oh. So it's only through blood then? Not saliva?" Alex asked innocently.

"No," Yami said shaking his head.

"Hey Tea?" Alex called over Yami's shoulder. "Are you positive about what you told Mokuba and I in the store earlier?"

Tea smirked. "You're having doubts right now?"

Alex observed her position. She was sitting in Yami's lap cradled in his arms and his eyes held so much concern and fondness that she felt her heart swell. No, she didn't have any doubts that Tea was telling the truth.

"Good," Alex smirked turning back to Yami. Then she surged up and kissed him.

Yami froze, eyes wider than dinner plates. He thought about pushing her away. Tried to remember that it was far too dangerous for them to have anything more than friendship.

Then Alex realized Yami wasn't responding and started to awkwardly pull away.

 _You'll lose her forever._

He didn't even know if the thought was his own or Yugi's. It didn't matter, he couldn't lose Alex, not now that he had her. He swiftly cradled her face and brought her lips back to his.

Distantly they heard Tristan and Joey wolf-whistling and Tea smacking them for it, but they ignored it.

"Hey," Tristan elbowed Joey in the ribs. "You know what today's date is?"

"Course I do. It's October 29th man," Joey said looking at him like he was crazy.

Tristan grinned like a shark. "Exactly. You owe me fifty bucks."

Joey blinked. "Aw man!"


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next day they actually managed to get to Burger World. It was a normal afternoon. Yugi and Tea were sitting on one side of the booth while Joey, Tristan, and Alex squeezed in the other side. "I'm telling ya guys! My social work prof has it out for me!" Joey exclaimed. Joey was in the police foundations program with Tristan, but one of their required classes was a social work class.

"Well maybe if you ever actually did the assignments, the prof wouldn't crack down on you so hard," Tristan said putting more ketchup on his fries.

"Hey! I resent that comment! I do work!" Joey said over Alex's head back at Tristan.

"Joey does work?" Alex mock gasped. "I think the shock may give me a heart attack!"

Joey flicked a fry at her. Alex tried to punch him in the arm but he caught her fist without looking. Then she tried to kick him under the table, but as soon as she thought it her foot was trapped. She huffed and yanked her arm and leg back.

Alex looked around the table. All her friends knew how to handle themselves in a fight. Tea certainly did better than she did last night. "Teach me to fight."

Everyone turned to look at her but no one spoke. "Teach me to fight," Alex repeated herself. "I don't want a repeat of last night. I never want to be a damsel in distress again, besides you all know how to fight. Why should I be the odd one out?"

"Alex, we've been training for years," Tea said gently.

"But you had to start at some point. One day, once I've trained for years I can be as good as you too," Alex insisted.

"We can protect ya though," Joey said. "You don't have to learn how to fight."

"I think it's a good idea," Yugi cut in. The group turned to look at him. "One day none of us may be there if Alex is ever attacked again. I know you don't like it, but no matter how hard you try it's still a possibility Yami," Yugi said obviously talking to an invisible Yami. "There's no harm in Alex learning to defend herself against vampires."

"What does Yami have to say about this?" Tristan said.

 _ **I still don't like it.**_

 _But you know I'm right. Alex is one of us completely now. Which means she's a target. We can't leave her defenseless, especially if she wants to learn._

…

"He agrees with Alex and I," Yugi finally declared.

 _ **No I didn't.**_

 _Too bad they don't know that. And you didn't explicitly say no._

Alex beamed. "Great! When do we start?"

"Next weekend," Joey said. "Tomorrow's Halloween. But first, I gotta finish these fries!"

Across the street eyes watched the laughing group from a shadowed corner.

* * *

"Tea I need your help!" Alex said breathlessly on the phone.

"What's wrong?" Tea asked.

"I have absolutely no idea what to wear to this Halloween party tonight!" Alex moaned.

Tea blinked. Then she burst out laughing. With all the danger in their lives, it was nice that the urgent help only consisted of figuring out a party outfit. "I'll be over at your place in five minutes ok?" Tea giggled.

"Thank-you!" Alex said. After she hung up she threw her phone on her bed and continued to poke through her closet looking for ideas. Sadly though, there was the same amount of inspiration as the first three times she looked. None. Finally though there was a knock on the door.

Alex flew to the door and threw it open while saying, "Oh my Ra, Tea you are here in the nick of…" she trailed off though when she found not Tea at the door but just a box. Looking both ways down the hallway she saw no one. _What on Earth…?_ she thought. She nudged it with her foot but when it didn't attack her she picked it up and brought it inside.

Settling in on her couch she opened it. On the top there was a note. _An outfit fit for a queen._ No signature. She was so wrapped up in the mystery that she jumped five feet in the air when another knock sounded at the door.

Once again she got up and opened it. "Hey Alex!" Tea said coming in. "I brought over some stuff for you to try on. I also brought my own costume so we can get ready together!"

"Thanks Tea, but this just got dropped off at my door," Alex said motioning to the box. She showed Tea the note, which Tea frowned at.

"This is strange Alex," Tea said frowning.

"I know," Alex said. They stood contemplating the note for a moment. "Oh I know!" Alex said. "It must be from Seto or Mokuba. Those two love to give me things and sometimes they forget to tell me things are coming!"

Tea relaxed, "That's probably it! Well? Have you checked what's inside yet?"

"Not yet," Alex said. She went back over the box and pulled out the tissue paper.

"Oh my God it's beautiful," Tea whispered. She was right. It was a white dress made of a light fabric, like finely woven cotton, overlaid with a transparent fabric and cinched with a heavy gold belt that had a piece of golden fabric draped from it. There was also a huge golden necklace inlaid with _oh my Ra are those REAL rubies?!_ And two golden arm bands with more gauzy, transparent material, this time in red. Finally at the bottom of the box was a golden circlet.

"It looks like an outfit from Ancient Egypt," Tea said.

"It looks like a queen's outfit," Alex added.

"But all the gold pieces and jewellery look real, not like those plastic cheap things you see in costume stores. Kaiba really went all out," Tea remarked.

"Yeah…" Alex murmured fingering the dress. _But he's never bought me a Halloween outfit before… And it's pretty excessive for something I'll only wear for one night…_

"Go put it on!" Tea said giving her a light push towards the bathroom. "I'll bet you'll make it look killer!"

Alex gave her a weak smile before she went to put the costume on.

* * *

"Where are those girls? Party started over an hour ago!" Joey complained.

Tristan shook his head. "Man when was the last time you had a girlfriend? Don't you know it takes them forever to get ready?"

"Well, yeah, but still…"

"Dude an hour is nothing. Do you remember that one girl I went out with that was always late? Like three hours late?" Tristan asked.

"True," Joey said. "But Yug, weren't you and Tea going to hang out before the sun went down and the puzzle forced Yami out?"

"Yeah, but that's ok," Yugi said smiling. "She and I hung out this morning and she already showed me her costume."

"Speaking o' costumes, what does Yami think of yours Yug'?" Joey asked with an evil smile.

Yugi grinned. "He's rolling his eyes," he said from behind a set of fake plastic fangs.

Tristan was dressed as Batman, Joey was wearing a pirate costume, and Yugi went with the ironic choice of a Dracula outfit.

"Hey guys!" Tea said running over.

"Hey Tea! Nice witch costume!" Tristan said.

"Thanks!" Tea said. Then she turned to Yugi. "Sorry we weren't here sooner, I know the sun's going down and you have to go in a minute."

"That's ok," Yugi said giving her a small kiss. "At least I got to see you."

"Hey, where's Alex?" Joey asked.

"She was right behind me, she just got caught up talking to one of her gymnastics friends in the other room," Tea said. "She'll be here in a minute."

"Well," Yugi said looking out the window at the setting sun. "It's time for me to go." He drained his drink and put his fake teeth in his pocket.

"Bye Yugi," Tristan and Joey chorused. Tea gave him a quick kiss. Then the puzzled glowed and Yami stood before them.

"Good evening everyone," he said.

"Hey Yami!" Tristan said.

"So Tea, did you and Alex ever find something for her to wear?" Joey asked.

Tea let an evil grin spread across her face. "Ooooo you bet we did," she said turning her grin on Yami.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yami asked frowning. But before Tea could answer Alex walked through the door. The dress was even more beautiful on her than it had been in the box. It fit her like a glove showing off all her curves and almost shimmered as she walked. The red and gold accents made her skin glow and set off her green eyes.

"Hey Yami? You might wanna put your eyes back in your head and close your mouth," Tristan said. Tea giggled as Yami did as instructed with a brilliant blush.

"Hey guys!" Alex said.

"Why hello Your Majesty," Tristan said giving her a mock bow.

Alex blushed. "I thought Batman was supposed to be tough, not charming." He just chuckled.

"You look beautiful Alex," Yami breathed. Her answering smile made his breath catch.

"Well I don't know about you guys," Tea said knocking back her drink, "But I'm ready to dance!" With that she grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. The boys smiled at each other before joining them.

* * *

Later, after the party had dispersed and the friends went their separate ways in the wee hours of the morning, Yami was walking Alex home in a companionable silence.

Well, actually, Alex was skipping. Not walking. But it was a beautiful night, she'd had a couple of drinks, a good day, with great friends, and an amazing boyfriend and she was damn well going to skip if she pleased. Yami just smiled fondly and watched her as he walked slightly behind. At one point she turned and catching his smile, smiled back at him.

When they arrived at Alex's apartment Yami gave Alex a quick goodbye kiss and turned to leave but she caught his hand. "Yami, is it hard for you to be around me?"

Yami blinked. _**Where did that come from?**_ He wondered. "Of course not, why would you think that Alex?"

Alex bit her lip. "You told me once that my blood is the hardest to resist that you've ever come across."

Yami smirked. "That's true. But it doesn't mean it's hard for me to be near you. I keep myself well fed enough that I can tune out your blood most of the time. The only times it becomes difficult are when one or both of us are feeling particularly strong emotions. Anger, love, lust, etc."

"Oh," Alex said. "Do you have any idea why you react more to my blood than other people's?"

Yami shook his head.

Alex attempted to process what he had told her. The alcohol was making it a little difficult. Eventually though a devious smirk appeared on her face. "So if I did this would it make it harder for you to resist me?" she asked stalking towards him.

Yami frowned. "What is thi-" He was cut off by her lips connecting with his. Now that he'd finally given in to his feelings it was impossible not to melt into her affection and be swept away by it.

This kiss was longer than other ones they'd had. Yami's hands moved so that one was cradling her neck and the other was gripping her hip tightly while she wound her fingers into his hair. She smirked at his growl. She felt the wall come into contact with her back but she was more focused on the tongue that was tracing her lips.

Eventually they had to part for air but Yami was quick to trail a line of kisses across Alex's jaw and down her neck. "Yami," Alex moaned tilting her head back and shivering. That must have broken the last of Yami's control because there was a sudden twin sting on her neck.

Alex tensed and waited for the pain, but it didn't come. Instead she felt her blood burn hotter. The desire that had been sweeping through her doubled. She felt amazing. If Yami and the wall hadn't been supporting her weight, her legs would've given out.

Then the feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come and a wave of cold air hit her. "Alex, are you ok? I'm so sorry," a panicked Yami said from a couple of feet away.

"I'm not sorry," Alex gasped trying to hold herself up. "What was that?"

"When a vampire drinks from a human they can make the human feel whatever they want. Pain, lust, love, numbness. Because I bit you during a lapse of control you felt what I felt."

"Wow. We need to do that more often."

Yami grimaced and allowed himself closer to be able to support her. "We're not even going to talk about it until your red blood cell count is replenished. Can you stand now?"

"Spoilsport. Yeah I'm ok," Alex said. "Are you sure you don't wanna come upstairs with me Dracula?" she whispered in his ear.

Yami shivered but stayed strong this time. "Good _night_ Alex," he said firmly leaning down to give her one last peck – and it was just a peck this time. She pouted but did indeed go inside without further argument. He watched as she went inside and up the stairs to her apartment before he melted into the shadows and left.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It was well known by Kaiba Corp employees that their CEO was a cold and ruthless employer. He was absolutely fair, but heaven help anyone caught slacking or making unnecessary mistakes. Everyone knew Seto Kaiba and his personality, which is why many of them couldn't figure out why he tolerated the bubbly, upbeat, and spunky young woman who popped by his office every now and then. Not that they were complaining. The woman was quite welcome around the building. She always said hello and made a point of making conversation with people, asking them how they were and how their families were doing, etc. And for whatever reason Kaiba always seemed slightly warmer after her visits, a reaction most thought only Mokuba could bring out.

There were always rumours that she was his secret girlfriend floating around, but few dared express opinions like that aloud after one loud mouth lost his job and most hope of finding a new one. Only Roland and his home staff knew Alex's real story.

Already his, and to a lesser extent Mokuba's, lives were entirely in the public eye. Seto did everything he could to protect Alex from suffering the same thing. The fact that she kept her own name when Seto brought her to the Kaiba mansion helped.

Seto leaned back in his office chair and looked away from his laptop to the lone photo he had on his desk. It was one of him, Mokuba, and Alex at Kaiba Land about a year after Alex had come to live with them. Mokuba and Alex had huge smiles and were holding up peace signs with their fingers, and he even had one of his rare smiles on as the all hugged each other and Alex took the photo.

Kaiba could never understand, much less explain, why he felt so protective of Alex and so quickly. The night he found her he didn't even think twice about bringing her to his home and taking care of her. It didn't make sense how he came to care for her as much as he did Mokuba within weeks of her being in his home. But with everything else going on in their lives he rarely questioned it. They already had enough mysteries and mayhem, gaining a little sister was the least of his worries.

And yes, she maybe the same age as him, but she definitely didn't act it most of the time and he _was_ older than her by a few months so he was entitled to call her his _little_ sister.

As if thinking about her conjured her his office door suddenly flew open, "Hey Seto!"

Try as he might, he couldn't fight a grin when he saw her. "Hey little sis," he said.

She stuck her tongue out at him but otherwise didn't respond to the little sis comment. Seto's grin grew fractionally at her childish antics. "What brings you by today?"

"Can't a girl just visit her brother? Why does there have to be a reason?" Alex asked crossing her arms.

Seto chuckled, "There's always a reason."

Alex rolled her eyes but grinned. "Ok yeah I had a reason. First I wanted to make sure you had lunch," she said tossing him the paper bag she'd been holding. It was a sandwhich from his favourite bakery down the street. "And second I wanted to say thank-you in person for the gift last night. You totally saved my hide."

At this Seto looked up at her frowning. "I didn't send you anything last night Alex."

Alex's smile disappeared. "What you mean? I thought you sent the white Egyptian Queen costume to my door last night."

Seto shook his head. "The note said it was from me?"

At that Alex blushed and scratched the back of her head. "Weeeelll, you see, the note was sort of on the inside and it wasn't signed…"

Seto leaned back and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alex, how many times have I told you not to open unmarked packages? And why on Earth would you wear a costume sent to you by God knows who?"

"I thought it was from you!" Alex argued feebly her blush growing.

"You know I would never send you an unmarked package because I've _told_ you not to open unmarked packages before," Seto said looking her in the eye.

"Ok! Ok! I'm sorry! But I'm fine! Nothing happened see?" Alex said throwing her hands up.

"This time," Seto muttered.

"I heard that," Alex glared.

"You were supposed to," Seto replied evenly. "I'm going to look into it. Even if it was harmless, I want to know whose sending you things anonymously."

Alex continued to glare for a second before relenting and went over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks big bro."

"And speaking of looking into things, Mokuba says there's something you wanted to tell me?" Seto asked.

Alex frowned. "Um, not that I can think of."

"Something to do with a boy?" Seto prodded raising an eyebrow.

 _Twerp,_ Alex thought recalling her conversation with Mokuba a few days ago. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it Seto," Alex said sweetly trying to be cute. She was met with a stone face that clearly said 'I most certainly will worry about this, now tell me his name NOW.' More or less.

The staring competition lasted a few more seconds before Alex threw her hands up.

"Fine! It's Yami!"

Seto looked stunned. "You're dating Yugi Mouto?"

"No," Alex replied annoyed. "I'm dating the spirit in Yugi's puzzle: Yami."

"Oh dear God, not you too," Seto moaned dragging his hands down his face. "This is why I tried to keep you away from the Geek Squad."

Alex rolled her eyes. "You know, for a big, bad, hardass CEO, you're a massive drama queen."

"Wait isn't Yugi dating Tea Gardner? He's dating both of you at the same time?!" Seto's face started to take on a purple tint.

Alex drew herself up to her full five foot five inches and glared down at him. "Enough Seto. Even if you won't admit it out loud we all know that somewhere inside of you, you know Yami is real. If you try to break up Yami and I, or Tea and Yugi, or our friend group in general, I will be extremely upset with you. You need to accept this and move on."

After a long silence Seto finally spoke. "Are you happy?"

Alex's eyes softened. "I'm so happy my heart could burst Seto."

Looking into her eyes he saw the truth of her statement. And if he were able to be completely honest with himself he might admit that they seemed to fit together. Like they were meant to be. Too bad Seto Kaiba isn't known for his honesty.

"Fine. Do what you want. You're a big girl," Seto said rolling his eyes.

Alex grinned knowing it was his way of accepting their relationship and giving them his blessing. "I gotta get back to school and you have a company to run. Don't forget about family dinner night next Saturday!" she said giving him a quick hug and waving as she left.

"I won't," Seto said smiling. Then the door closed behind her and he frowned. A secret gift sender. It could be harmless… or incredibly dangerous. It didn't sit well with him, especially with the reports of shadowy men and disappearing girls around the campus.

 _I will protect you Alex,_ he thought to himself. _I won't let you get hurt this time._

 _This time?_ He questioned the thought. When had he ever failed to protect Alex?

Clearly he needed more coffee.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next few weeks went by without incident. Alex began her vampire defense training with the gang, they went to school, and she spent time with Yami every other day. One Thursday though, Alex didn't see Yugi or Yami at all. Granted, they only had a couple of classes on Thursdays and they were late in the afternoon. Yugi texted her right before class to tell her that Yami had gotten a lead on the kidnapping vampires so he wouldn't be in class or be there to walk her home after gymnastics tonight. A second text came in right after the first, one that she suspected was not from Yugi, telling her to go straight home from gymnastics and make sure a couple of the girls walked with her.

She sighed and tucked her phone back into her pocket after replying. At least he knew better than to suggest that she skip practice. He'd only made that mistake once and she doubted he'd be looking for a repeat any time soon.

Alex was surprised to walk into the gym later that day and find more than half the team missing. "Where is everyone?" she asked her friend Kate as she started warming up.

"Well I don't know about everyone, but a few people texted me saying they were super sick," Kate replied. Alex nodded, she'd gotten a bunch of them too. Apparently the cold snap that week had put a lot of people out of commission.

"Coach is not going to be happy," Alex said. Kate groaned in response.

Alex bit her lip as a couple more people trickled in. None of the people she sometimes walked home with were there. In fact all the people present lived in the opposite direction of her apartment. She pushed her predicament to the side as Coach started practice. She'd have to think about it later, since as she'd said to Kate, Coach was Not Happy about the lack of attendance.

Come the end of practice though, Alex still hadn't found a solution. _Well,_ she thought to herself, _I could always walk home alone… It's not like Yami would ever have to know… And honestly if I were targeted by the vampires I doubt a couple of human girls would be able to help me fight them off._

Decision made, she hiked up her backpack and started to make her way home.

* * *

She almost made it all the way home without incident. A couple blocks from her apartment she heard hissing and crashing coming from the alleyway beside her. Déjà vu much.

But this time she didn't hesitate. She darted into the alley to find two men grappling with each other, one facing her, one with his back to her. Thankfully Yami was the man who had her in his field of vision. Alex didn't really think about what she did next. She ran and jumped on the mystery vampire's back.

It was all the distraction Yami needed. He ripped his hands away from the other vampire's and punched him hard enough to make him see stars as Alex slid off his back. He fell down but didn't fall unconscious until Alex's boot connected with his face.

Yami and Alex both stood panting over the man for a minute, watching to make sure he was really out. Then their eyes locked and they were in each other's arms.

"Are you hurt? What happened?" Alex asked patting him down for injuries.

Yami laughed and pulled her in for a kiss. "I'm fine," he said when they came back up for air. "I'm perfectly fine. Thanks to you Alex. You were amazing!"

Alex blushed slightly. "Well I did learn from the best."

"I'm pretty sure I didn't teach you that," Yami snorted.

"Who said I was talking about you?" Alex teased.

Yami laughed and kissed her again.

Abruptly he pulled away though. "Who walked you home? Are they alright?" he asked worriedly looking around for other people.

He didn't miss Alex's grimace and the way she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, see about that…"

"You walked home alone didn't you?" Yami's eyes narrowed.

"I had to!" Alex cried throwing her hands up and pulling away from him slightly. "About half the team was out sick today, including everyone else who lives in this direction!"

"Why didn't you call Kaiba then and ask him for a drive home?" Yami demanded.

"Mokuba dragged him home earlier because he's been working too hard lately. He's asleep right now and it'll be the first decent sleep the man's had in weeks! I'm not waking him up on my account," Alex explained frustrated.

"A cab then! Why not take a cab?" Yami growled at her.

"Do you have any idea how expensive cabs are? I don't carry that kind of cash on me," Alex said folding her arms together.

"Dammit Alex!" Yami shouted punching the brick wall behind him. He left an indent in the shape of his fist. "You can't jeopardize your safety because you might inconvenience others!"

"If I hadn't walked home I wouldn't have been here to help you!" Alex shouted back at him.

"I would've survived!"

"Oh yeah? Like the first night we met? If I hadn't woken you up would you have survived that stab wound?" Alex sneered.

A groan from the ground beside them interrupted them before the fight escalated further.

"Go home Alex. I have to take care of this," Yami said tiredly turning away from her.

"I'm your girlfriend, not your pet Yami," Alex said quietly.

"Well maybe I should get a pet instead then. A pet would actually listen to me," Yami said exasperated. Alex gasped and her eyes widened and filled with tears. Then he realized what he said. "Alex-" he tried his eyes widening at his realization.

"Don't," she whispered backing away from him. "Just don't." Then she span and ran away from him towards her apartment building.

He watched from the alley's shadows to make sure she was alright before going back to the unconscious vampire. While he waited for the vampire to wake up so he could question him the image of Alex's tears burned into his mind and he wallowed in self-loathing and guilt.

* * *

Alex sobbed as she threw her apartment door closed behind her and flopped on her bed. She knew deep down that Yami didn't mean what he said. He wasn't going to replace her with a pet, or a girl who acted like one, but the words still stung.

After a few minutes she was able to calm herself down enough to be hiccupping. _I just need to sleep,_ Alex thought to herself. _I'll talk to Yami in the morning after we've both had a little more time to cool off and rest._

Decided, she wandered out to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat before getting ready for bed. She was muttering to herself when she came out again with a peanut butter sandwich. "Stupid, ridiculous, paranoid man…"

"Sounds like there's trouble in paradise."

Alex's head snapped up. Lounging beside her door was a man she'd never seen in her life. When he smiled she could easily see his fangs.

"What do you want?" Alex asked calmly despite the fear pooling in her gut.

The man shrugged. "Me? Nothing. My boss on the other hand…"

Alex backed away as he started stalking towards her. "And your boss would be…?"

The man just grinned and tensed to jump at her. Thanks to Alex's new training though she realized what he was going to do. She pulled her sandwich apart and lobbed the two pieces at his head.

He dodged the first slice, which splatted against the wall and stuck there, but the second slice nailed him in the face. Immediately she ran to her room where her phone was but suddenly he was blocking her way. Changing directions she grabbed the lamp off the side table behind her and hurled it at him, running to the window on the other side of the room as soon as she did.

The wind was knocked out of her though when she was tackled into the couch. She struggled against the hands that pinned her wrists. "Will you quit it?" The vampire hissed. She stopped long enough to glare at him and spit in his face before using his surprise and every ounce of strength she had to push backwards on the couch and make it topple over flipping him over her head.

She scrambled to her feet running for her bedroom again when a hand wrapped around her ankle. She reached out grasping for anything to stop her from falling but all she managed to grab were a bunch of papers off her coffee table. They didn't do much when she threw them at him. But they did distract him from the other foot that she kicked out at his face. She got on her feet again as he cursed his now broken nose.

As she ran the tipped all kinds of chairs and tables over behind her trying to make it as difficult for him as possible. This time she did make it to her room where she slammed the door closed and locked it before diving for her phone on her bedside table.

Her fingers trembled as she tried to unlock it and something thumped against her door. She crossed her fingers hoping he would pick up as a fist slammed through the door. _Please. Please answer,_ Alex prayed.

She screamed in frustration when the vampire grabbed her and pinned her against the wall. "Get off me you brute!" she snarled.

"After you broke my fucking nose? I don't think so bitch," he hissed back at her.

He let go of one of her wrists but she didn't have time to take advantage of it before he slammed a fist into her face and her world faded to black. Neither of them noticed the phone Alex dropped when she fell unconscious or the frantic voice coming from the device.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Yami wallowed in his emotions for some time before the enemy vampire finally woke up. Unfortunate for him since Yami now had a target for his anger and frustration.

"How large is your group?" Yami demanded hauling the man up by his throat and holding him against the alley wall. The man just glared. Yami produced a knife. "I said, how large is your group?"

The man eyed the sharpness of the knife. "Nine."

"All newborn vampires?" Yami questioned.

He slashed at the man's face when he didn't answer. "Eight newborns," he hissed with hatred in his eyes.

"Are any of the girls you kidnapped still alive?"

The man grinned. "What do you think?"

Yami ground his teeth. "Where is your hide out?"

The man snorted and rolled his eyes. "Why the hell do you think I'd tell you that?"

For the first time since the interrogation started Yami grinned. But it wasn't Alex's favourite soft grin, it was malicious and blood thirsty. "You have no hope of escape. I'm far older and stronger than you, I have a weapon, and I'm in a foul mood right now. Please by all means don't cooperate. It'd be so much fun to have an outlet for my anger."

The man gulped seeing the truth in Yami's eyes. Still he hesitated. Yami stabbed the knife through his hand. He howled in pain. "Ok, ok! An old warehouse in the industrial district! Belongs to Kaiba Corp. It's been abandoned ever since Gozaburo died. Warehouse number five."

"See? Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Yami said with a smile. There was murder in the man's eyes now. "Who is your leader? The older vampire who isn't a newborn?"

"Who says the old man is the leader? Maybe one of us newborns is," the man defended.

Yami gave him a scathing glare. "If one of you moronic thugs had been in charge I would've brought down your organization months ago." The man growled at the insult. "Now I'll ask again. The man in charge, who is he?" Yami demanded.

"Dunno. He never told us his name," the man said casually.

"Fine then describe him," Yami said annoyed.

"You can cut me with that knife as many times as you want, but I won't give up my master," the man said.

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Fine, then maybe I'll just leave you out on the sidewalk so you can watch the sunrise. I wonder how long you'll last before you go up in flames?"

Finally the man looked nervous. "And how far away is sunrise?"

Yami glanced at his watch. "It's 2:20 am, which gives me a few hours to have fun with this knife before I hand you over to the sun," he smirked wickedly.

Yami expected the man to shake in his boots. To stink of fear. To beg for his life. What he did not expect was for the man to roar with laughter and glee. "I seemed to have missed the punchline," Yami said frowning.

"You're too late," the man cackled. A sense of dread crept into him as his phone buzzed. Embedding his knife in the man's shoulder he flicked open his phone and answered it.

He was met with a scream. _"Get off me you brute!"_ a woman shouted.

"Alex!" Yami yelled fear seizing his heart.

" _After you broke my fucking nose? I don't think so bitch,"_ another masculine voice answered her. Yami couldn't help the small feeling of pride at hearing she broke a man's nose. But then there was a terrible thump. The sound of a body hitting the floor. A grunt. Footsteps. A door closing. Then silence.

"Alex! ALEX!" Yami screamed frantically. The man in front of him grinned like a maniac.

Yami growled before slamming the man's head repeatedly against the brick wall behind him. The man didn't move when he eventually let go. Unconscious or dead, Yami didn't know, or care, regardless the sun would finish the job in a few hours. Alex was his priority.

Without a backwards glance Yami ran as fast as he could to the warehouse the man he had interrogated described. _I won't let her die because of me. Not this time,_ he promised himself. He was too distracted to question why his thoughts implied that this had happened before.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Alex woke up with a throbbing headache.

Looking around she attempted to try and get her bearings. She was tied securely to a sturdy chair in the middle of a large, dim, empty room. _A warehouse. How cliché,_ she thought to herself.

"Well, look who decided to join the land of the living. Again," came a voice out of the darkness.

"My mother always told me growing up I was like a cat with nine lives," Alex remarked distractedly trying to pinpoint the voice.

Booming laughter filled the space. "No matter how many lives you lead, you continue to amaze me with your wit."

Alex's face scrunched up in confusion. _Huh? Lives I lead…?_

"You seem confused. Perhaps I should backtrack. Allow me to introduce myself." A dark shape dropped from the ceiling to land a few feet in front of her. It stalked forward slowly until she was able to see a man. He was tall, with a long black trench coat making him look taller and more ominous. Wild, pale hair that stuck out in all directions and eyes that held pure evil. He was completely black and white, the only trace of colour was a golden necklace. It was shaped like a ring, with a triangle and the Eye of Horus inside.

"My name is Bakura, King of Thieves. At your service Your Highness," he said giving Alex a mock bow.

Alex paled considerably. She'd heard about Ryou Bakura and his evil side from her friends. He was a vampire trapped in the Millennium Ring. _Oh shit._

* * *

A few hours later, Yami finally found the warehouse he was looking for. Once inside, he began to carefully search for Alex, dispatching any vampires that came his way. Finally, _finally,_ he caught her scent and he had to stop himself from breaking into a full on run. A few more turns and he found himself in the large main room and his heart stopped.

 _Oh my Ra, Alex._ Yugi breathed sadly in his head. Yami was frozen with fury and shock.

She sat tall on the chair she was tied to, like it was a throne instead of a prison, and the gag in her mouth did nothing to hide the fierce glare on her face that quickly morphed into surprise and relief when she caught sight of him. Her normally tanned face was marred with black and blue bruises and she was covered in gashes. There were small puddles of blood under her chair, some dried, some fresh. Yami snarled in rage though when he saw that her neck was littered with puncture marks.

A deep chuckle filled with malice came from the darkness. "Always so possessive _Pharoah_."

"Release Alex NOW! Your feud is with me!" Yami roared.

"Ah but that's where you're wrong you see. While you were wallowing in the pieces of your precious puzzle for five thousand years, Alex and I have been playing a most delightful game of cat and mouse. Unfortunately for her, she seems to lose every round." The dark chuckle came again and Alex shivered. A figure started to materialize behind her. "You look confused Pharaoh. Perhaps I should shed some light on the subject." The figure stepped fully into the light behind Alex and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders.

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Bakura," he spat.

"Pharaoh," Bakura smirked before looking down at Alex. "You know she was doing quite well this time. Eluded me for years. But then, I suppose, I was distracted by you this time around."

"What are you talking about?" Yami demanded.

"Do you believe in reincarnation Pharaoh?" Yami was silent. "You should. Your little friend Alex here has been reincarnated dozens of times over the last five thousand years. Isn't that right Alex?"

Alex rolled her eyes. Bakura chuckled, "Forgive me I forgot about that," he said taking off the gag.

"You're insane," Alex spat over her shoulder.

"I can see you don't believe me," Bakura smirked as he bent down close to her ear and mock whispered. "But tell me, if you aren't a reincarnation, then how do you explain your dreams?"

Alex stiffened. "What do you know about my dreams?"

"I know that they aren't dreams at all. They're memories of your past lives. Constantly running, hiding, _searching._ Searching desperately for something you can't find. And while you search you're hunted. By me," Bakura grinned flashing his fangs. "Of course, some lives were more memorable than others. Paris, during the French revolution was fun. You were the daughter of a duke. You managed to escape me for about a year before my mob and I caught you."

Alex paled as her dreams and more complete visions raced before her eyes. She actually remembered what he was saying.

"The Salem witch trials were interesting too, if much faster. The village believed the most mudane things to be proof of witchery, it was almost too easy to find something to incriminate you. I didn't even have to do anything in the Russian revolution when your poor family was attacked. Nor when a German plane bombed your flat in London during World War II."

Yami thought he was going to be sick. If what Bakura was saying was true…

"In fact, I believe this is the longest life you lived. To be fair to myself though, I thought I had killed you in that fire when you were fifteen."

Alex, who had become glassy eyed with memories up until that point, took a moment to take in what Bakura had just said.

"You set that fire on Christmas Eve," Alex breathed.

"Yep," said Bakura checking his nails.

"You killed everyone I loved, left me all alone, at fifteen years old, and for what? Some sort of SICK GAME?!" Alex was screaming by the end and thrashing against her restraints. "You bas-"

"Ah, ah, ah," Bakura tutted. He fisted his hand in Alex's hair and yanked her head back to make her look him in the eye. "Now that's not the kind of language a lady uses."

Alex snarled at him.

Bakura just carried on conversationally in response. "Did you know when a vampire bites a human the vampire can make the human feel whatever they want? So far when I or my comrades have bitten you, you felt only numbness. But I could make you feel intense pleasure… or pain," he hissed tightening his grip in her hair. Alex couldn't stop the whimper that escaped her.

Yami growled and took a step forward. Bakura's eyes immediately focused on him. "Not another step _Pharaoh_. You know I can tear her throat out before you can make it halfway across the room."

Yami froze. "Don't you dare lay a fang on her Bakura," he hissed.

"I think that sounds like a challenge," Bakura grinned at Alex. She didn't even have time to blink before her world exploded in pain.

Yami saw red when he heard Alex screamed in agony. Before he could take more than a few steps though four vampires jumped out the shadows and pinned him down. Bakura stood up from Alex's neck, "I thought I told you not to move." Yami was vibrating with rage. Bakura looked back down at Alex. "You always did have the prettiest screams." Alex's eyes blazed with fury while she panted. He chuckled, "And always a spitfire. All the way back to your first life."

"Oh yeah? You gonna gloat about how you killed me that time too?" she rasped.

Bakura sighed, "Sadly that was the one lifetime where I didn't have the joy of killing you."

"Oh I suppose I got to die of old age that time then," Alex said sarcastically.

"Oh no, you were killed. Brutally too. Covered in a pool of your own blood and your beloved Horus necklace smashed to smithereens beside you," Bakura said conversationally while Alex frowned. Visions of her original and most recurring dream floating through her mind. "But it wasn't me that did it. It was him." Bakura smirked at Yami.

Yami inhaled sharply at the accusation.

"No," Alex said confidently. "Yami wouldn't."

"But he did!" Bakura laughed loudly. "He drained you nearly bone dry!"

Alex tried to shake her head, it was difficult with Bakura's hand still tangled in her hair, as visions slowly overcame her. Crimson eyes swam in front of her. "What have I done?" A voice echoed from far away. "No please! Please don't leave me! I love you!" He sounded like he was in so much pain. She tried to reach up a hand to comfort him but couldn't find the strength to do so. He was calling her name…

* * *

"Alex! ALEX!" Yami screamed hysterically trying to get away from his captors. Then he turned to Bakura and snarled, "What did you do to her you bastard?"

"She's merely remembering fragments of the past. Must've been more than her poor, fragile human mind could handle," Bakura said smugly.

"I'm going to tear your throat out," Yami swore.

"I'm tired of listening to this right now. Drake? If you please?" Bakura said turning away.

Yami felt something connect with the back of his head, and then unconsciousness claimed him.

* * *

Yami came to quickly.

 _ **Aibou! Are you alright?**_

 _Yeah, I'm ok,_ Yugi said a little more groggily.

 _ **Alex. Where is Alex?**_ He asked opening his eyes with some difficulty.

She was across from him. She looked the same as he'd last seen her, which still made him furious, but at least she didn't have any additional injuries.

They were in a different room with no windows and only one heavy door. And they were both in chains on the far side of the room from the door. Alex's was around her ankle and she only had about a foot of chain connecting her to the wall. Yami's was locked around his ankle as well, but his was longer, just enough so he could sit by Alex.

"Alex! Alex, can you hear me?" Yami asked quietly gently shaking her shoulders.

Alex groaned as her eyes fluttered open. "Yami?" she breathed brushing his cheek with her fingertips. "Is it really you?"

"Yes Alex," he whispered brokenly. Ra, it killed him to see her like this.

"Oh Yami," she sobbed reaching up to wrap her arms around him.

He quickly pulled her into his lap and held her to him as closely and gently as possible. "I'm so sorry Alex."

"No," she pulling away from him abruptly. "Don't you dare apologize for this. This is not your fault, do you understand Yami?"

Before he had a chance to answer though the door creaked open. "Well isn't this scene touching."

Both their heads shot up. Yami couldn't help but notice though, that while Alex bravely glared at their captor, she was shivering in fear.

"What do you want with us Bakura?" Yami spat.

"To break you," Bakura said simply. "I want you to feel the worst pain imaginable."

"Well you have me now. You have no need for Alex. Set her free," Yami demanded. Alex whipped her head to look at him with wide eyes.

"Sorry, no dice," Bakura said smirking before Alex could protest. "You see Yami, she is your biggest weakness. Your Achilles heel. Her pain and suffering is your worst nightmare."

Yami grit his teeth. It was true unfortunately.

"Did you just come here to gloat or is there an actual reason for your visit?" Alex asked throwing as much sarcasm as she could into it.

"There is actually," Bakura said coming a little further into the room. For the first time Alex and Yami noticed he was holding a silver tray in one hand. Alex trembled and Yami pulled her closer. Bakura stopped just out of reach of Yami's chain and put the tray down on the floor. Rather than an assortment of knives like Alex feared though, it held food. Granted not very much, a couple crusts of bread, a small cup of water, and a bruised apple were hardly a gourmet feast, but after what she'd been through it looked like heaven to Alex.

"Why are you feeding me?" Alex asked suspiciously. "It's not poisoned is it?"

Bakura grinned, "No. There'd be no point to that anyway, Yami'd be able to smell it. I'm giving you food because I'd prefer you not die of starvation. That would be so boring."

"Then what are you going to do?" Yami asked.

"I'm not going to do anything," Bakura said grin widening. " _You_ on the other hand…"

"I would never hurt Alex," Yami said.

"Oh of course you say that now," Bakura waved him off. "But notice there's only human food on that tray. Your precious Alex won't starve. But you will. And what will the animal in you do as it slowly gets hungrier and the only food is sitting in your lap?"

At Yami's look of dawning horror Bakura laughed manically. "Well enjoy you meals!" he called over his shoulder as he left, slamming the door behind him closed.

Yami and Alex sat in silence for a moment processing.

"Yami? When was the last time you fed?" Alex asked quietly.

"Five days ago," Yami replied equally as quiet.

"Shit."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

" _I call upon the dark magic of the Millennium Puzzle and that of the Gods to answer me! Seal the evil soul of the Thief King inside his most prized possession until such a time as he may be completely defeated!" the figure in front of him roared._

 _A dark cackle rose from further away. "You fool! You cannot make such a demand of the Gods without paying a hefty price first!"_

" _And I intend to," the first voice said. "In the name of my people and my loved ones, I offer my own soul, to be sealed within my own most prized possession until such a time that the hero capable of defeating you releases me!"_

" _No! You can't!" the second voice replied sounding afraid._

" _And to ensure that neither of us can escape, I use my own name as the key to our cages and wipe it from the minds of everyone that knows me, including my own. In fact I completely erase my mind of all my memories," the first voice continued._

" _STOP!"_

" _So let it be written, so let it be done," the first voice finished._

 _An impossibly bright light appeared between the two figures._

 _An ancient voice, a god like voice, replied to the first's demand, "Your proposal has been accepted by the gods Pharaoh. To finish the spell, smash your Puzzle into pieces and both you and the Thief King will be locked away. When it is solved again, you will both be fully released."_

" _Fine!" The second voice screamed as the first raised an object above his head. "I call upon my own shadow magic and dark gods to cast my own curse! I curse the one you love most to never be granted entry to the afterlife, instead to walk this Earth again and again searching for you but never able to find you while you're imprisoned! I curse that with each life they lead, they will die a horrific and young death by my own hand!"_

" _NO!" the first voice protested._

" _So let it be written, so let it be done," the second voice mocked. Then a dark… something, shot from the second figure to the first and shattered the object in his hand. Both figures were swallowed in light and disappeared._

 _When the light faded, they were both gone and the last of his strength left him. "I am sorry my Pharaoh. I have failed you. Both of you. I promise that one day I will serve you again and do right by you both," Set said just before unconsciousness claimed him._

Seto Kaiba jerked upright in his bed. _What the hell was THAT?!_ He scrubbed his hands over his face. _I've been spending too much time with Yugi and his friends._ He threw off the covers and went downstairs to his study to do work. _This is why I don't sleep._

Strange dreams weren't uncommon for Seto Kaiba. Normally, he just brushed them off, but for some reason this one stuck with him. Maybe because it was so much clearer. Or maybe because of how serious he sounded when he made his promise. _It doesn't matter, it's just a dream,_ Seto told himself. Even as he went through his daily routine, getting ready for the morning, wishing Mokuba goodbye, going to work, it kept coming back to haunt him though.

Finally though, it was the end of the day and he headed home. Being that it was Saturday, he got to go home early and get ready for family dinner. Every other Saturday since Alex had moved out they made sure to have dinner together, just the three of them. No office, or work, or school, or phones, just them. And he knew if anyone could distract him and take his mind off of things it'd be Alex and Mokuba.

Arriving home he found Mokuba in the kitchen already working on dinner. "Hey Big Bro, I decided to make tacos, hope you're ok with that."

"Sounds good Mokuba," Seto said with a small smile. "Let me go put my stuff down and I'll give you a hand."

Before long the food was all made and the table was set. "Now all that's left to do is wait for Alex!" Mokuba chirped.

"Well it's just about six o'clock so she should be here any second," Seto said ruffling his younger brother's hair. "Why don't we go play some games while we wait?"

Mokuba cheered and dragged his older brother into the other room to play on the Xbox while they waited. After several rounds though Seto started to wonder where Alex was. As if reading his mind Mokuba asked, "Hey Seto, what time is it? Shouldn't Alex be here by now?"

Seto checked his watch. "It's 7:15. Yes she should be. Maybe she's stuck in traffic, I'll give her a call."

Seto grabbed his phone and dialled Alex's number, after ringing for what seemed like forever Alex picked up, "Hey! You've reached Alexis Jones!"

"Alex-" Seto started.

"Just kidding, this is actually my voicemail. Leave a message!" the phone continued.

Seto sighed. It was so Alex. "Alex where are you? Family dinner was supposed to start nearly an hour and a half ago. Mokuba's getting hungry and we both know how dangerous a hungry Mokuba is," Seto joked and hung up.

Mokuba looked at Seto, "She didn't answer?" Seto shook his head. "This isn't like her at all. Being late for family dinner, not telling us, not answering her phone. You don't think she's in trouble do you?"

Seto ignored the knot of dread that had been steadily growing in him all day. "No I'm sure she's fine. Maybe her phone just died," he said with a smile.

By 8 o'clock he'd left five voicemails.

At 9:30 he made Mokuba to eat without him and Alex, despite Mokuba's protests.

By 10 he was in the car on the way to Alex's apartment.

"Alex!" He yelled banging on the door. "I swear to God you better be in there!" There was no answer though. Growling, Seto pulled out his spare key for her apartment and opened the door.

It was utterly trashed. Furniture was everywhere, a lamp was smashed on the ground, a peanut butter sandwich was stuck to the wall by his head. But most horrifying was the drops of blood everywhere on the floor standing out stark red against the warm brown of the hardwood.

Seto's head whirled with panic. Amidst all his thoughts two stood out. _You promised…_ said a voice that sounded suspiciously like Alex. _I failed her again…_

He shook the thoughts away. He'd never failed Alex before and he wasn't about to now.

Whipping out his phone he called Roland. "Roland I want all the security footage from Alex's building and any footage from surrounding buildings of the streets nearby. Call all of Alex's friends and find out the last time they saw her or if they knew if anything suspicious was going on. I'm calling the police."

"Is something wrong with Mistress Jones Master Kaiba?" Roland asked.

"She's been kidnapped."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Alex's body hurt. A lot. Then again, it wasn't a huge surprise given the beatings she'd had and the fact that she was sleeping on a stone floor. As she sat up she tried to get her bearings. The only way they had of knowing how much time had passed was when Yami and Yugi transitioned back and forth. Given the danger of the situation, Yami would've preferred to stay in control and keep Yugi safe, but they were both weak from hunger and fatigue and were forced to follow along with the puzzle's whims. He was still Yugi right now, like he'd been when she fell asleep, which meant unless she'd slept through the whole night it was still daytime. Saturday daytime since they'd been there for a day already.

"How are you feeling Yugi?" she asked him.

He gave her a weak smile. "I feel like I should be asking you that."

She waved him off until she saw the tray from earlier still holding one of the bread crusts, half of the water and half of the apple. "Yugi! I told you to eat that!" she said looking at him.

He shrugged. "I told you that you need it more."

"I already had half the food though," Alex protested.

"And you've been malnourished longer than I have," Yugi argued calmly.

"Ok how about this," Alex said threateningly. "Either eat it of your own free will, or I'll cram it down your throat."

Yugi's eyes narrowed and they glared at each other for moment before Yugi finally sighed and relented. Alex grinned victoriously. Yugi ate the remaining food in silence. "When do you suppose someone will realize we're gone?" he asked to fill the silence.

"I'm supposed to be having dinner with Seto and Mokuba tonight. He'll be breaking into my apartment and have the cops all over the place by midnight. Once they start the search they'll call everyone I know and when you don't answer they'll probably come looking for you too if your Gramps hasn't already got them doing that," Alex told him.

"Nah, Gramps is too used to my random disappearances by now. I try to let him know if I have to go somewhere but he knows how my life is," Yugi joked with a small smile.

Suddenly the door slammed open and before Yugi or Alex could blink two vampires were standing on either side of Yugi pinning his arms against the wall across from Alex.

"Yugi!" Alex cried reaching out to him but due to her short chain she couldn't get anywhere near him.

"Ah, if it isn't the Pharaoh's other pet," Bakura sneered. Yugi struggled but the vampires holding him didn't move an inch.

 _Yami!_

 _ **Yugi! I'm trying to switch with you!**_

Yugi felt Yami strain as he tried to take Yugi's place, but try as he might he just couldn't.

"What's the matter little Yugi? Is the Pharaoh too tired to come out and play?" Bakura mocked getting up in Yugi's face.

Alex watched as she saw Yugi snarl and get angry for the first time ever. "It's not wise to taunt us Bakura," Yugi spat.

"Is that so?" Bakura mused. "You know he's already so mad at me I don't think anything I do will make any difference." He pretended to think. "Oh I know! How about instead of drinking from just one of his pets, I drink from them both!"

Yugi bared his teeth and kneed Bakura in the gut. Bakura gasped and stumbled back while Yugi smirked. "You little cretin!" Bakura snarled backhanded Yugi so hard his head snapped to the side. Distantly he heard Alex cry out.

 _ **YUGI!**_

 _I'm ok,_ Yugi reassured Yami as he spat blood on the floor.

"Don't worry Yugi, I have no intention of drinking from you. Yet. Both you and the Pharaoh are still too strong for that and it's too close to sunset."

As if he'd said the magic words the puzzle glowed and Yami appeared just as the sun slipped behind the horizon.

"Ah there he is, our great ruler," Bakura said his mocking tone back.

"I swear Bakura, when we get out of here I'll-"

"IF. You mean IF you get out of here," Bakura grinned evilly. Yami glowered back at him darkly. "Not going to finish that threat? Ah well," he said sauntering back over to where Alex was. She trembled but resisted the urge to back away and stood her ground. "I see you didn't have a snack last night, was the food not up to par?" he asked standing behind her. She kept her eyes fixed on Yami's and neither of them said anything. "I'd best have a taste then and make sure it's all right."

Alex yelped as an iron arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against Bakura's body as his hand fisted in her hair and roughly yanked her head to the side. Then there was the now familiar twin sting. But rather than numbness or pain she felt the most amazing feeling she'd ever had. She moaned in pleasure and let her head fall back against the shoulder behind her and she felt someone start to grind against her. Slowly a hand started to push her shirt up until her bra was exposed.

A small part of her was screaming at her that something was wrong though. She kept trying to ignore the annoyance and lose herself in the ecstasy she was feeling but it gradually started to get louder as one hand slid her bra strap down and the other moved from around her waist to further south. Distantly she thought she heard sounds of snarls and screaming which added fuel to her little voice.

Before she could think about it too much though the feeling suddenly disappeared and she was left feeling cold and jello-like. Only the body behind her and the hands holding onto her holding her up. A body and hands she realized, with a dawning horror, which belonged to Bakura.

"LET HER GO NOW YOU MOTHERFUCKER," Yami howled practically foaming at the mouth. His fangs were fully extended and on display as he snarled and fought desperately against his captors. He was putting up a good fight, but they kept ahold of him.

She felt Bakura shrug. "If you insist." Then she was dumped unceremoniously to the ground and crumpled in a heap. Thankfully she had enough presence of mind to make sure her arm was between the stone floor and her head when she fell.

"ALEX!" Yami yelled. She didn't have the energy to reassure him that she was fine. Which probably meant she wasn't fine, but like hell she'd ever tell him that. Then there was the sound of a door slamming closed and gentle hands pulling her onto a lap. "ALEX!"

That voice sounded so familiar… Was it the warmth of arms or the warmth of blood surrounding her? A vision of crimson red eyes full of heartbreak swam in front of her eyes. She knew those eyes… But she couldn't remember his name… "No please! Please don't leave me! I love you!" He sounded so sad… What was _her_ name? Ann? No… Ank? Anchor? No that was ridiculous… "Alex!" That wasn't her name was it? Wait… "Alex! Alex, please I'm begging you, wake up!" Alexis Jones. That was her name. She was a twenty year old college student studying Ancient History. Alex.

She gasped as she sat up pushing Yami's bleeding wrist away from her mouth. She shivered as she touched the side of her neck where Bakura bit her. But her skin was completely smooth with no trace of his bitemark, nor the others she'd had when she woke up in this room the first time. Her eyes darted up to Yami. Then they narrowed. "We agreed you wouldn't give me any blood to heal me so you could conserve your strength," Alex said accusingly.

"It was necessary. You lost far too much blood. Besides that is what you decided, I agreed to nothing," Yami said with a weak glare.

Alex cursed as she looked at him again. He was pale, more so than usual, cold, and shaking slightly. She reached up to touch his face but he flinched and shied away from her hand. "Yami? What's wr-" And then she saw it. His fangs had fully extended and his eyes were glued to the pulse point in her wrist.

"Alex I think I should go back to the other side of the room," he said but he didn't move nor did he take his eyes on her wrist.

"Ok Yami," she said quietly her heart breaking for him. She slowly put her hand down and scooted off his lap and backwards until her back hit her wall. It was then she realized her shirt was still up around her shoulders and the buttons and fly of her jeans were undone.

Her eyes and cheeks burning with humiliation and embarrassment she quickly fixed her clothes. It was enough to finally snap Yami out of his bloodlust. "Alex…" he started uncertainly.

The dam broke. Alex started sobbing uncontrollably, thinking about what happened and what almost was. Yami retracted his fangs and breathed through his mouth instead of his nose and pulled Alex back to him rubbing her back and running his fingers through her hair. They stayed like that until Alex cried herself to sleep. Yami gently wiped her face and laid her down on her side of the room before going back to his own side. It was going to be a long night.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 _Set, help him please?_

 _Sean what are we going to do?_

 _Run Serge!_

 _Stefan he's going to find us._

 _Help me Sacha!_

 _You promised…_

 _SETO HELP!_

Seto jolted knocking his coffee cup on the floor where it smashed into a million pieces. He looked down at the mess swearing. Then he cursed some more as he saw the time on his laptop screen. Five am. He'd been asleep for FOUR HOURS. How could've he fallen asleep when Alex was still missing? How was he tired after all the coffee he'd drank?

He stared at his laptop. There was no footage from Alex's building because the day she'd disappeared was the ONE day they decided to do maintenance and upgrades. What footage there was from surrounding buildings saw nothing. Her neighbours had all been out at the time. There was nothing to go off of. The only scraps of information they had was that Yugi also wasn't answering his phone and hadn't been seen since Thursday, and the last time anyone saw Alex was Thursday night at her school's gymnastics practice. He had tried to track Yugi's phone, but the idiot had left it at home in the game shop.

Seto rubbed his face tiredly. There had to be a clue. _Something._ With a sigh he let his hands fall. _I'll check the security footage one more time…_

Apparently he was more tired than he thought though because instead of clicking on the footage from around Alex's building he accidentally clicked on the live stream for one of his step-father's abandoned warehouses. Annoyed at himself he was about to exit the screen when there was a flash of movement.

 _There shouldn't be anyone in there, not even junkies and gangs should be able to break in regardless of it's abandonment…_ Seto thought suspiciously. Leaving the window open he settled in to monitor the warehouse from all it's cameras.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Gods he was so hungry.

He thumped his head against the wall behind him as his stomach let out a loud growl.

"You too huh?" Alex's voice came from the other side of the room.

Yugi opened his eyes and looked at her with a small smile. "A bread crust and half an apple isn't exactly satisfying," he said with a sad smile.

"Ah well, you get what you pay for you know," Alex joked.

"I can't believe you're still able to crack jokes even in a time like this Aex," Yugi said smiling and shaking his head.

Alex just shrugged. "We're not dead yet. As long as we have that, there's still a chance we can get out of this."

"How do you feel? Last night-"

"I really don't want to talk about last night Yugi."

"I'm not sure that's healthy," Yugi said gently.

Alex stayed silent for a moment not looking at him. Then she heaved a heavy sigh. "I know. I just… I can't. Not right now. After we get through this and get out of this place, maybe then. But not right now."

Yugi watched her for a moment before nodding slowly. "Ok. But you know I'm always here if you want to talk about anything," he said.

Alex gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks Yugi."

They sat in silence for a long time, not knowing what to say to each other, but taking comfort in the other's presence. Finally Yugi broke the silence though. "You know the sun's going down soon."

Alex sighed. "How's he feeling?"

Yugi grimaced. "Starving."

"Fabulous."

"Alex please be careful. His humanity is in tatters right now. He's barely keeping it together. You need to stay as far from him as your chain will allow," Yugi warned her.

She nodded solemnly.

"And Alex? If anything happens tonight… thank-you for being my friend," Yugi said with a smile.

Alex grinned back at him. "Anytime Spikey. But you know I'm going to see you tomorrow," she said confidently.

Yugi shook his head. "I sure hope you're right Alex."

Then the puzzle glowed and a pair of hungry red eyes locked on her. "Well, well, what have we here?" Yami asked with an evil smirk crawling towards her.

"Oh Yami," Alex whispered sadly. It broke her heart to see what Bakura had reduced him to.

The sound of his name made him freeze and squeeze his eyes closed though. "No. No! Alex, Alex, Alex... This is Alex, must leave Alex alone…" he chanted to himself under his breath.

"Yami?" Alex said and reached out as if to comfort him.

Yami's head snapped up his eyes filled with panic though. "No Alex!" he yelled crawling backwards, as far from her as he could get. "You must stay away from me!"

"I'm sorry Yami," she whispered.

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for Alex," Yami said more gently, but she could still hear the strain in his voice.

"I'm sorry you're in pain. And I'm sorry that I'm the one causing it," Alex said, a single tear escaping.

"Please don't cry Alex," Yami rasped.

Alex swiped the tear away and gave him a weak smile. Before she could respond though the door slammed open again and their captor waltzed in.

"Good grief Pharaoh this is getting ridiculous," Bakura scoffed. "Your willpower has certainly increased drastically over the last five thousand years."

Yami glared at him weakly.

"Well, I've decided that you two have become boring, so I decided to speed up the process," he continued. Then he produced a ripped blood bag from nowhere and threw it across the room where it's contents landed splattered. All over Alex.

Alex looked down at herself in horror while Bakura cackled madly. She snapped her head up to meet Yami's eyes… only to see the face of a predator. Alex felt her eyes sting. This was her end. The temptation she now presented was too much even for her strong, beautiful Yami. Resigning herself to her fate she reached out a hand to cup his cheek when he stalked towards her. "I love you Yami," she whispered. He cocked his head to the side slightly as if he had no understanding of her words. He probably didn't. "I always have and always will love you, and I don't blame you for this." Yami's curiosity seemed to run out by that point because he reached out and tugged her over so he could scent her neck. She went willingly, closing her eyes, knowing fighting was useless at this point. And at least if he drained her, his strength would be replenished and he might be able to break free.

Then there was the now familiar twin sting. There was no feeling this time though. No lust, no pain, no numbness. Nothing. Alex let the tears run down her face and ran her fingers through Yami's hair knowing it'd be her last chance. She thought she heard scuffling, but she was quickly becoming tired, far too tired to think about mysterious noises.

And as more and more of her strength faded, she felt a sense of horror grow within the man holding her. Then the most beautiful red eyes were floating above her. "A…m…" she whispered trying to say his name. She finally remembered his name. Gods she loved him so much. Her Pharaoh.

"No please! Please don't leave me!" he nearly screamed. It seemed so familiar…

She felt his hot tears on her face… A pressure on her lips… And then she knew no more.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Yami's awareness came back to him slowly. He was drinking from something.

No some _one._

 _YAMI STOP!_

"Let go man!"

"Yami you'll kill her!"

"ALEX!"

Alex.

The sound of her name was like a bucket of water had been dumped on him. With a dawning horror he ripped himself away from her neck. Her eyes were half closed, her heartbeat erratic, and her breathing shallow and laboured. "A… m…" she breathed looking at him.

"No," he breathed. "No, no, no, Alex! No please! Please don't leave me!"

"Yami!" his head snapped up. There was Tea, Tristan, Joey, and Kaiba standing next to an unconscious Bakura. Well Tea and Tristan were standing. Joey was struggling to hold back a frothing Kaiba who had murder in his eyes.

"You BASTARD! You killed her! You killed my sister!" Kaiba howled at him.

Yami looked back down at the woman in his arms, and let his tears fall. Who cared about pride when his heart was in agony?

Then her green eyes fluttered opened and locked onto his own. Despite what he'd done all that was there was love in those eyes. "No," Yami snapped as her eyes slowly closed again. "She's not dead yet. Tristan, Tea, there are blood bags somewhere in this building, Bakura threw one at us. Find as many as you can and bring them back here." He ordered before ripping his wrist open on a fang. He quickly pressed it against Alex's mouth trying to encourage her to drink. For the longest minute of his life nothing happened. And then Alex started to swallow. Her colour gradually came back and Yami's strength started to fail. Tea and Tristan came bursting back into the room with their arms full of blood bags. He quickly adjusted Alex so she could lean back against his chest and continue drinking from his wrist while he reached out his free hand to grab a blood bag and tear into it.

After several minutes and a dozen blood bags, Alex's eyes fluttered open and she pushed Yami's arm away. "Yami?" she said confused turning to look up at him.

"Oh Ra Alex," he rasped gathering her into a tight embrace and burying his nose in her hair.

"But how?" she asked. "I thought I was dead."

"Alex!" the rest of their friends shouting while converging on them. Seto nearly ripped her from Yami's arms.

"Don't you EVER do that again!" he snarled shaking her slightly.

Alex just gave him a small smile and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry Seto. I love you too my brother."

The hug lasted for a minute until Joey noticed something. "Hey Kaiba? Are you crying?" he asked astonished.

"Of course not Mutt," Kaiba said bolting upright. The two immediately launched into an argument with Tea and Tristan looking on in amusement.

Alex grinned at them before turning to look back at Yami. His eyes held none of the mirth everyone else had. "I thought I lost you," he whispered cradling her face.

Her smile turned sad at the heartbreak in his voice. "But you didn't," she whispered. "You saved me. I told you on the first day I met you that I trusted you."

Yami finally gave her the smallest of grins shaking his head, "Foolish woman."

"Ridiculous man," Alex countered her smile widening.

"You know, you promised you wouldn't offer yourself up to anymore hungry vampires," Yami pointed out.

"Mm, that was when I wanted to be your friend. I think we're much more than that now," Alex whispered in his ear.

"You're right. You're my heart. My love," Yami said pulling her tight against him again. "I love you Alex."

"I love you too Yami," she beamed back at him.

A gasp brought them back to the real world.

Everyone turned their curious gazes to the source. Surprisingly, Tea was looking at them wide eyed. "Your love…" she said.

Yami quirked an eyebrow at his friend's strange behaviour. "Yes?" he questioned.

"Remember what Ishizu and Malik said about getting your memories back? You have to have your love and your friends to support you? What if it doesn't mean your emotional love for your friends and family?"

Yami's eyes widened. "What if it meant my physical love? A person?" he looked down at Alex. "The love of my life."

Alex's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "Oh my Ra Yami, you can get your memories back."

" _We_ can get our memories back," he corrected. "Bakura was clearly right about you being a reincarnation with all your dreams and recent memories. I have no doubt you were in the ancient past with me."

"Looks like we have a trip to plan then," Alex said grinning.

"Awesome!" Joey exclaimed. "But in the meantime, what are we gonna do with- aw shit he's gone!"

Everyone turned to look at the spot where Bakura had been lying. It was true the man had disappeared.

"Hurry! He can't have gotten too far," Tristan said and started to rush out of the room.

"Leave him Tristan," Yami called. Tristan turned to look at him with a confused expression. "He'll not attack again right now, now that his plan has been spoiled. There's too many of us and only one of him. But we shouldn't go seeking battle when we are so tired and battered," Yami explained eying the gashes and bruises his friends had collected.

"Yami's right," Alex said. "Let's just go home. We can fight Bakura another day when we're all stronger." The other four looked ready to argue, but let the issue go when they saw the stubbornness in both Yami and Alex's eyes.

"Ok," Tea said for them all. Yami and Alex both awkwardly stood up given that they were both still weak from what had happened. After they managed to get up they held onto each other but Tea came support Alex on one side while Joey helped Yami on the other.

On the journey out of the warehouse Alex found herself locking eyes with a pair of red ones continuously. Red. It was the colour of his eyes, of passion, of blood. It was funny how the colour red bound them.

The six battered teens made their way back to Kaiba mansion to rest and recuperate while they prepared for a second journey to Egypt, never noticing the eyes that watched them from the darkness.

* * *

"'With his love and his friends to support him' huh?" a voice pondered. "No wonder the Pharaoh waited so long to unlock his memories. He couldn't until he met his sweetheart. I suppose it's actually a good thing his little friends interrupted my fun, otherwise the real battle couldn't begin for another generation."

White and gold gleamed in the darkness. "Well enjoy what little time you have left Pharaoh. Soon you will lose everything you ever loved all over again. And I will be the only one left standing this time," the voice cackled as Bakura walked away into the night.

* * *

 **Thank-you so, so much for reading. I'd love to know what you guys thought so feel free to leave a review if you want. There will be a sequel to this story (working title right now is 'Gold'). I'll update this Author Note once it's done and posted, which I'll warn you could be a while. Like a year. Or more. Sorry.**

 **Au revoir! à la prochaine!**


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